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    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated)
    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated)
    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated)
    Ebook50 pages33 minutes

    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated)

    By Nat Turner

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    About this ebook

    Nat Turner (1800-1831) was an enslaved African American who led a rebellion of slaves and free blacks in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831. His story is the basis for the controversial film The Birth of a Nation from Fox Searchlight Pictures. The Confessions of Nat Turner is the key primary document supporting historical events. The pamphlet is a first-hand account of Turner's confessions published by a local lawyer, Thomas Ruffin Gray, in 1831.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEnhanced Media Publishing
    Release dateOct 31, 2016
    ISBN9781365361227
    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated)
    Author

    Nat Turner

    Nat Turner (1800-1831) was an African American preacher and rebel. Born into slavery in Southampton County, Virginia, Turner learned to read and write as a boy. Known for his devotion to prayer and the Bible, Turner often spoke of receiving visions from God. At 21, he escaped slavery for a month before returning to Samuel Turner. Sold to Thomas Moore, he was working in the fields one day in 1824 when he foresaw a day of judgment ahead. He began preaching to enslaved African Americans and white Southerners alike, gaining a reputation as “The Prophet.” In 1831, after witnessing a solar eclipse, he began preparation for his rebellion by purchasing muskets and gathering his closest allies. On August 21st, he gathered around 70 enslaved and free African Americans, many of them armed and on horseback. Over the next several days, the rebels moved from house to house, freeing slaves and killing the slaveowners they encountered. Soon, a state militia arrived to strike down the insurrectionists, leading to the execution of over a hundred Black people in the area. Captured six weeks later, Turner was tried on November 5th and hanged on November 11th. His last words at the trial, reportedly, were “Was Christ not crucified?” Despite the failure of the insurrection, Turner and his allies have been recognized for their commitment to Black liberation for giving their lives to defend their people from injustice, enslavement, and persecution. Using jailhouse interviews with Turner and independent research, Thomas Ruffin Gray, an attorney who represented some of the rebels, published The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831). Since his execution, Turner has inspired generations of activists, artists, and political figures alike with his commitment to revolutionary action and moral indignation regarding the institution of slavery.

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    Book preview

    The Confessions of Nat Turner (Illustrated) - Nat Turner

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    The Confessions of Nat Turner by Nat Turner. First published in 1831.

    THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER,

    THE LEADER OF THE LATE INSURRECTIONS IN SOUTHAMPTON, VA.

    ––––––––

    As fully and voluntarily made to

    ––––––––

    THOMAS R. GRAY,

    ––––––––

    In the prison where he was confined, and acknowledged by him to be such when read before the Court of Southampton; with the certificate, under seal of the Court convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5, 1831, for his trial.

    ––––––––

    ALSO, AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE WHOLE INSURRECTION, WITH LISTS OF THE WHITES WHO WERE MURDERED, AND OF THE NEGROES BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURT OF SOUTHAMPTON, AND THERE SENTENCED. 

    Baltimore:

    PUBLISHED BY THOMAS R. GRAY.

    Lucas & Denver, print.

    PREFACE

    ––––––––

    DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, TO WIT:

    Be it remembered, That on this tenth day of November, Anno Domini, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, Thomas R. Gray of the said District, deposited in this office the title of a book, which is in the words as following:

    The Confessions of Nat Turner, the leader of the late insurrection in Southampton, Virginia, as fully and voluntarily made to Thomas R. Gray, in the prison where he was confined, and acknowledged by him to be such when read before the Court of Southampton; with the certificate, under seal, of the Court convened at Jerusalem, November 5, 1831, for his trial. Also, an authentic account of the whole insurrection, with lists of the whites who were murdered, and of the negroes brought before the Court of Southampton, and there sentenced, &c the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in conformity with an Act of Congress, entitled An act to amend the several acts respecting Copy Rights.

    Edmund J. Lee, Clerk of the District.

    In testimony that the above is a true copy, from the record of the District Court for (Seal.) the District of Columbia, I, Edmund J. Lee, the Clerk thereof, have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of my office, this 10th day of November, 1831.

    ––––––––

    Edmund J. Lee, C.D.C.

    NOTE FROM T. R. GRAY TO THE PUBLIC

    ––––––––

    The late insurrection in Southampton has greatly excited the public mind, and led to a thousand idle, exaggerated and mischievous reports. It is the first instance in our history of an open rebellion of the slaves, and attended with such atrocious circumstances of cruelty and destruction, as could not fail to leave a deep impression, not only upon the minds of the community where this fearful tragedy was wrought, but throughout every portion of our country, in which this population is to be found. Public curiosity has been on the stretch to understand the origin and progress of this dreadful conspiracy, and the motives which influences its diabolical actors. The insurgent slaves had all been destroyed, or apprehended, tried and executed, (with the exception of the leader,)

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