Nat Turner
By
John C Abercrombie
This is day 18 of 28 dedicated to the 2023 Black History Serise where we look at the selcom mentioned race massacres and other incidents showing the extent that people were willing to take to deny an entire race of their rights.
We discuss topics like this every Sunday, For information on how to listen and interact with us on this program follows.
We discuss this and other aspects of race in America every Sunday at 4:00 pm Eastern, 1:00 pm Pacific. Ways to connect with us. Remember you can check out past podcasts on our archives.
Ways to Listen and Interact with Us:
- By phone Login to your BlogTalkRadio Schedule program Guest Call In(646) 668-8217
Computer Radio Station Link –blogtalkradio.com/crowntalkingdrums
To see allposts in this series click this link. Notea: you may need to refresh the link for it to update.
Nat Turner was the leader of a very bloody revolution that took place in Southampton and is officially known as the Southampton Insurrection. It took place on August 1831. It is estimated that between 55 and 65 White people were killed. The rebellion was quelled within a few days. The White community was obviously agitated. Turner was not found for two months following the rebellion.
Fear among the White population led to the mobs killing an estimated 120 Blacks, both slave and free. The Commonwealth of Virginia also executed 56 people including Turner himself. Many of the Black people executed had not participated in the rebellion.
While the insurrection was bad enough the lawlessness of the mob is not justified when there is a justice system in place. It is time for cooler heads to become serious about solving the problems that exist. Slaves and freedmen participated because despite the notion that slaves were incapable of self determination and the other myths, that was not the case, and they were desperate for the opportunity for freedom and the ability to produce for themselves.
Turner had been educated and was a preacher. Because of this Southern state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting the education of enslaved and free Black people, laws restricting their right to assemble and other civil liberties. They even passed laws requiring a White minister to be present at all worship services.
While some may see justification, it is this running away from the problem that has exacerbated the problem to the present level. We avoid examining the problem from both sides and attempting to resolve it. Instead, we go to individual corners and chose to actually fight rather than solve the underlaying problem. It is time for this to change.
When Nat was born, there were more Black people than White in Southampton County, Virginia. Nat knew little about his father who is believed to have escaped from slavery when Nat was a young child.
He is referred to here as Nat as that is what the records show until the rebellion when he is referred to as Nat Turner. When his owner Benjamin Turner died his son Samuel inherited him under the property laws of the time which made slavery legal.
Turner was identified as having “natural intelligence and a quickness of apprehension, surpassed by few. He leaned to read and write at a young age, was deeply religious and often seen fasting, praying or immersed in reading stories of the bible. He is said to have frequent visions that he interpreted as messages from God.
At age 21, he escaped from Samuel Turner. After becoming delirious from hunger and receiving a vision that told him to “return to the service of my earthly master”, he returned a month later. Turner married an enslaved woman named Cherry and had children. However, the family was separated after Samuel Turner’s death in 1823; Nat was sold to Thomas Moore, and his wife and children were sold to Giles Reese. Despite a strong family bond, slavery could interrupt family life in the twinkling of an eye and was greatly disturbing to those separated. One of the horrors of the slavery system.
Turner had a vision in 1824. In that vision “the Savior was about to lay down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men and that great day of judgement was at hand.
Turner often conducted religious services, preaching the Bible to his fellow enslaved people who dubbed him “The Prophet”. In addition to Blacks, Turner garnered White followers such as Etheldred T. Brantley, whom Turner was credited with having convinced to “cease from his wickedness”.
By the spring of 1828, Turner was convinced that he “was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty”. He “heard a loud noise in the heavens” while working in Moore’s fields on May 12 “and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first”. Historian and theologian Joseph Dreis later wrote: “In connecting this vision to the motivation for his rebellion, Turner makes it clear that he sees himself as participating in the confrontation between God’s Kingdom and the anti-Kingdom that characterized his social-historical context.”
In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner; Turner later recalled that he was “a kind master” who had “placed the greatest confidence” in him.
After the rebellion, a reward notice described Turner as:
5 feet 6 or 8 inches high, weighs between 150 and 160 pounds rather “bright” [light-colored] complexion, but not a mulatto, broad shoulders, larger flat nose, large eyes, broad flat feet, rather knockneed [sic], walks brisk and active, hair on the top of the head very thin, no beard, except on the upper lip and the top of the chin, a scar on one of his temples, also one on the back of his neck, a large knot on one of the bones of his right arm, near the wrist, produced by a blow.
As Turner plotted his plan to recruit slaves from the neighborhood. He believed that God wanted him to “slay my enemies with their own weapons”.
Turner looked for atmospheric conditions to set his plan in motion. On February 12, 1831, there was a solar eclipse which Turner envisioned as a Black man’s hand reaching over the sun.
The original date of the rebellion, Independence Day, July 4, 1831 had to be changed when Turner fell ill. On August 13, an atmospheric disturbance made the Virginia sum appear bluish-green, possibly from a volcanic plume off the coast of Sicily. Turner interpreted this as the sign and began the rebellion a week later on August 21.
Starting with several trusted fellow slaves, he ultimately enlisted more than seventy enslaved and free Blacks, some of whom were on horseback. The rebels traveled from house to house, freeing enslaved people and killing many of the White people whom they encountered.
Muskets and other firearms were too difficult to collect and would gather unwanted attention, so the rebels’ used knives, hatchets, and blunt instruments. The rebellion did not discriminate by age or sex and the rebels killed White men, women, and children. Nat Turner confessed to killing only one person, Margaret Whitehead, whom he killed with a blow from a fence post.
Historian Stephen B. Oates states that Turner called on his group to “kill all the White people”. A newspaper noted, “Turner declared that ‘indiscriminate slaughter was not their intention after they attained a foothold, and was resorted to in the first instance to strike terror and alarm.’” The group spared a few homes “because Turner believed the poor White inhabitants ‘thought no better of themselves than they did of Negroes.'” The Black rebels killed approximately sixty people before they were defeated by the state militia. The infantry defeated the insurrection with twice the manpower of the rebels, reinforced by three companies of artillery.
Turner thought that revolutionary violence would awaken the attitudes of Whites to the reality of the inherent brutality in slaveholding. Turner said he wanted to spread “terror and alarm” among Whites.
In Southampton County any Black suspected of participating in the rebellion were beheaded and the severed heads mounted on poles at crossroads. One road became known as “Blackhead Signpost Road”.
Panic ensued with rumors spread as far as Alabama and reports of armies of enslaved people burning and massacring White inhabitants in Wilmington, North Carolina and marching on to the State capital.
This led to Whites attacking Blacks throughout the South. This violence against Blacks continued two weeks after the rebellion was suppressed.
Reverend G. W. Powell wrote a letter to the New York Evening Post stating that “many negroes are killed every day. The exact number will never be known.” A company of militia from Hertford County, North Carolina, reportedly killed forty Blacks in one day and took $23 and a gold watch from the dead. Captain Solon Borland led a contingent from Murfreesboro, North Carolina, and he condemned the acts “because it was tantamount to theft from the White owners of the slaves”.
Modern historians concur that the militias and mobs killed as many as 120 Black people, most of whom were not involved with the rebellion.
Nat Turner
Our mission is to provide those historical facts that have been omitted from history. Believing that America is strong because of contributions by all groups and individuals.
In addition to the lack of information, there seems to be a campaign to promote the disenfranchisement of groups by eliminating the contributions, mistreatment and inclusion. Instead promoting negative depictions which in the absence of other information paints a highly unfavorable picture.
We provide information that exists but is not included in mainstream history. Many wonder about the validity of these stories, so we include videos to enhance the experience and books to allow you to take advantage of additional materials that have existed over time.
To those ends, the books can be purchased from our partner Amazon. It is possible to not only read about the book, but to sample them as well, read a section or listen before deciding if it is one that you like. Click on the link. Note: many of these books are available in several forms, such as hard cover or soft cover, Kindle – eBooks that can be read on your smartphone or other device free with a free download, or Audible where the books are read to you. Again, they can be delivered instantly and enjoyed on phones or other devices with a free download.
We support our work by partnering with partners who pay us a small royalty for purchases made through our links. Many of these are to products that you may find interesting, however it is not necessary to purchase that product. How do you use the links then? Many links take you to several products so feel free to look. If it is a product that you do not want, simply click on the cart and click to remove any unwanted items, then shop to your heart’s content. We both benefit from this action, since the partner pays us without cost to you and are able to provide you outstanding information. A win-win situation for both of us. We depend on your using our links and appreciate it. Make use of our links a habit anytime you shop a partner.
Try Audible Plus – Free Trial
While we show you books primarily based on the subjects of our posts, all genres are available from comedy to drama and all points in between. Put joy back into your learning with this trial.
a brand new all-you-can-listen membership that offers access to thousands of titles, including a vast array of audiobooks, podcasts and originals that span genres, lengths, and formats.
**
Audible Gift Memberships
Memberships are available in 1, 3, 6 and 12-month membership options. The greatest gift you can give someone is the joy of learning and here it is.
**
Try Audible Premium Plus and Get Up to Two Free Audiobooks
Audible Premium Plus. Audible, an Amazon company, offers the world’s largest selection of digital audiobooks and spoken word content. With Audible, customers can listen anytime and anywhere to professionally narrated audiobooks across a wide range of genres.
Try Audible Premium Plus and Get Up to Two Free Audiobooks
The Israelites: NAT TURNER DOCUMENTARY [OFFICIAL]
Israel United in Christ is a Biblical Organization that teaches the Gospel of Repentance from Sin to Our People scattered around the world as a Result of Disobedience to God’s Commandments. When you consider the plight of our people, it is one of turmoil and trauma. Our People, the Israelites suffer from a wide range of issues from Self Hatred, and Domestic Violence, to Mass Incarceration and Economic Exploitation… However,
**
The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia
Nat Turner is widely regarded as one of the most complex figures in American history and literature. He was the leader of one of the United States’ most famous uprisings. Nat Turner’s rebellion was one of the bloodiest and most heroic events in American history. His actions, said to be divinely inspired, ignited a culture of fear in Southampton County, Virginia that eventually spread to the rest of the South. It’s said to have expedited the coming of the Civil War. In the immediate aftermath of the rebellion, however, many Southern states including North Carolina tightened restrictions on African Americans. Nat Turner, though, managed to elude capture for over two months. He hid in the Dismal Swamp area and was discovered accidentally by a hunter on October 30th. He surrendered peacefully.
This and other books on this site can be sampled by clicking on the link below.
**
Diabetic Clothing
**
The Nat Turner Rebellion Explained: US History Review
**
Nat Turner
The fascinating and action-packed true story of an American freedom fighter, written and illustrated by Kyle Baker as a graphic novel—collecting all four issues of his critically acclaimed miniseries.
The story of Nat Turner and his slave rebellion—which began on August 21, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia—is known among school children and adults. To some he is a hero, a symbol of Black resistance and a precursor to the civil rights movement; to others he is monster—a murderer whose name is never uttered. In Nat Turner, acclaimed author and illustrator Kyle Baker depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds.
**
Diabetic Clothing for Insulin Pump
ABH – Diabetic Clothing for Insulin Pump
**
The Confession of Nat Turner | Read by Brock Peters (1968) | John Henrik Clark
**
The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion
“A penetrating reconstruction of the most disturbing and crucial slave uprising in America’s history.” (New York Times)
The fierce slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia in 1831 and the savage reprisals that followed shattered beyond repair the myth of the contented slave and the benign master and intensified the forces of change that would plunge America into the bloodbath of the Civil War. Stephen B. Oates, the celebrated biographer of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., presents a gripping and insightful narrative of the rebellion – the complex, gifted, and driven man who led it, the social conditions that produced it, and the legacy it left.
**
Try Audible Plus
a brand new all-you-can-listen membership that offers access to thousands of titles, including a vast array of audiobooks, podcasts and originals that span genres, lengths, and formats.
**
The impact of Nat Turner’s rebellion still felt today
With freedom on his mind, Turner lead a group of slave through Southhampton to liberate themselves.
**
Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory
Nat Turner’s name rings through American history with a force all its own. Leader of the most important slave rebellion on these shores, variously viewed as a murderer of unarmed women and children, an inspired religious leader, a fanatic–this puzzling figure represents all the terrible
complexities of American slavery. And yet we do not know what he looked like, where he is buried, or even whether Nat Turner was his real name.
**
Exercise Equipment
**
Nat Turner – Slave Rebellion 1800-1831 (African American History)
**
Ancestry Test Kits
Discover the deep rich heritage that is you using these options
ABH – Ancestry Test Kits
*
The following book is a great addition to the above and can be used to answer and further your search for ancestors that can bring pride to you. We come from strong roots, discover and take pride!
Black Roots: A Beginners Guide To Tracing The African American Family Tree
Trace, document, record, and write your family’s history with this easy-to-read, step-by-step authoritative guide.
Finally, here is the fun, easy-to-use guide that African Americans have been waiting for since Alex Haley published Roots more than twenty-five years ago. Written by the leading African American professional genealogist in the United States who teaches and lectures widely, Black Roots highlights some of the special problems, solutions, and sources unique to African Americans. Based on solid genealogical principles and designed for those who have little or no experience researching their family’s past, but valuable to any genealogist, this book explains everything you need to get started, including: where to search close to home, where to write for records, how to make the best use of libraries and the Internet, and how to organize research, analyze historical documents, and write the family history.
This guide also includes:
-real case histories that illustrate the unique challenges posed to African Americans and how they were solved
-more than 100 illustrations and photographs of actual documents and records you’re likely to encounter when tracing your family tree
-samples of all the worksheets and forms you’ll need to keep your research in order
-a list of the traps even experienced researchers often fall into that hamper their research
12345
To see the full listing of post (over 250 and counting), click on our Blog list
Current Mini-series on voting
**
Voting Tutorial – Click this important link
Voting – Voter Suppression – Click this important link
Voting – Gerrymandering Explained, This post
For Black History Month 2020, we posted daily. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. To see the posts, click here
For Black History Month 2021, we focused on Black Medical Achievements, Inventors and Scientists. To see those posts, click here.
For Black History Month 2022 we focused on “Health and Wellness”. To see the entire series, click this link.
For Women’s History Month 2022 we introduced you to 31 amazing Black women we should all know. To see the entire series, click this link.
We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. To see the posts, click here.
We also did a mini-series on the Schomburg Center for Research a most amazing collection of Black history and culture. To see this mini-series, click here
The Schomburg Center
A world class collection of Black History inspired by a 5th grade teacher who told Arturo Schomburg that there was NO African history. Nothing of value. Schomburg dedicated his life to proving that teacher wrong and Schomburg did an amazing job with his collection.
Schomburg – The man who built a library
To comment or make suggestions on future posts, use Contact Us
**
Depictions of slaves as being so happy to be in slavery were completely a figment of someone’s imagination and hint … that person was not one of the enslaved. Throughout history we have read the stories (mostly fiction) about the happy slave singing and dancing for the master. Reports of slaves saying they had a good master. Again totally false. These statements are an example of coerced statements because, if word got out that you were badmouthing the master, you were in BIG trouble.
Many slaves committed suicide rather than face what they knew was coming. They were willing to take a chance, no matter how slim, for the chance at freedom. They were willing to tackle snake invested swamps and other hazards for a chance at freedom. The penalties for even talking or about or attempting to run away included the cutting off of an ear, branding, even the chopping of a foot, yet they were still willing to take the chance.
Read about a most courageous attempt at freedom which remained so precious to those being depicted as happily enslaved, one of America’s most outrageous myths.
We discuss stories like this every Sunday. Subjects like this are included because success and happiness are determined by where you start, but where you finish. True stories of how people have struggled for the best that life has to offer despite being deliberately denied time and time again.
The struggle for freedom and opportunity continues