A Narrative on Nat Turner’s Revolt, Samuel Warner, 1831

Nat Turner was born enslaved in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1800. He became a preacher and self-proclaimed prophet who believed that he had been called to lead a rebellion against slavery. On August 21, 1831, Turner began a slave revolt that left approximately fifty-five white people in Southampton County dead. He was joined by about sixty African American men and boys who were defeated by white militia members and a contingent of state and federal troops. A few slaves escaped and went into hiding, including Nat Turner. Public attention focused on Turner, who was blamed for inciting enslaved laborers to rebel through his "imagined spirit of prophecy" and his extraordinary powers of persuasion. Turner's ability to elude capture for more than two months only enhanced his mythic stature.

Nat Turner's revolt prompted a debate in Virginia's General Assembly about whether slavery should continue in the state. Instead, the legislature passed additional laws to tighten control over the actions of enslaved and free Black men and women. They were forbidden from gathering together for religious, educational, or other reasons, and Black church congregations had to be supervised by white ministers. Free Blacks also lost their right to a trial by jury and were treated in the same manner as slaves in the court system.

Before Turner had been captured, convicted, and executed in November 1831, Samuel Warner published Authentic and Impartial Narrative of the Tragical Scene: Which was Witnessed in Southampton County (Virginia) on Monday the 22d of August Last. . . , which included this engraving of the "wanton barbarity" of Turner and his followers that Warner described in considerable detail.

Citation: "Horrid Massacre in Virginia, Nat Turner's Rebellion," frontispiece image in Authentic and Impartial Narrative of the Tragical Scene, By Samuel Warner (New York: Warner West, 1831), Library of Virginia.

Preview Activity

Look at it: Look at the document. List three images that you find moving or powerful and explain your reaction to those images.

Post Activities

Analyze: Take a close look at the images on the first page of this narrative by Samuel Warner. How do you think Warner felt about Turner's actions? How does he portray the revolt?

Social media Spin: Create a social media post in which you describe Nat Turner’s revolt from a neutral perspective. Be sure to include information which is relevant to understanding the context of the revolt.