Nat Turner

Nat Turner was a Virginia slave who wanted to abolish slavery through an armed rebellion against slaveholders. Claiming that God had spoken directly to him and ordered an attack on slave owners, Turner recruited more than sixty of his fellow slaves in his enterprise. Shortly after midnight on August 22, 1831, Turner and his followers launched their attack, killing some sixty whites—slave owners and their family members, including children and infants. Turner was eventually captured, tried, and executed for his actions. Before his execution, he narrated The Confessions of Nat Turner to Thomas R. Gray, an attorney. After Turner's death, Gray published the narrative. This excerpt from that text reveals how Turner came to initiate his rebellion and how he carried out his grisly work.

As I was praying one day at my plough, the spirit spoke to me, saying "Seek ye...