Nat Turner

Nat Turner

Nat Turner was an African American slave who was born in Southampton County, Virginia on October 2, 1800. He started working on southern plantations 1831. When he was younger, everyone thought of him as bring very smart. They saw that he was smart when he was about 3 or 4 years old. While young Nat Turner was playing with some of his friends, his mother heard him tell the children about something that had happened to him when he was born. She later had asked him about what he told the children. She asked him details about the incident, and it confirmed that he knew about this past event. From that time on, other slaves believed that in addition to his unique view, his physical markings were a sign that he would be a prophet. He was brought up knowing that slavery was wrong. He was taught how to read and write by his masters son.

Later on, he got married to a slave named Cherry. They had two children together. The last was born in 1822. He went by the name Samuel Turner. But, he later died. Both Cherry and Nat properties were sold. Nat was sold for the price of four hundred dollars and Cherry was sold for forty dollars. Even the children were sold. They were so happy that they were not sold to farms where the slaves were work really hard, nearly to death.

Turner took his religion seriously. He was a preacher and he preached at many different black churches. The white slave owners like the fact that he was a preacher because they thought that they could learn better from one of there kind. As a young man, he began having visions that he believed were from God. Turner had three visions prior to the rebellion in 1831. In 1821,he had his first vision, after he had run away. He had hid in the woods and he was determined to return after a Spirit told him to go back and be a preacher. But, he spent thirty days in the woods and after the thirty days, he returned to his church to preach.

He had a second vision. In this vision he saw many lights on the sky. So, he prayed to God for Him to tell him what the light in the sky meant. He later got an answer from God and He told him what it meant. While Turner was working hard in the field, he saw that drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven. Then he found hieroglyphic letters and numbers on the trees in the woods.

He had began to see more signs and he had gotten more visions from God. He interpreted them as if he need to attack his enemies with their own weapons. He had a few close trusted friends that he shared his visions with. He shared the visions with them and only them. They would also help him in his revolt. Turner and his close trusted friend met daily to come up with plans for his secret revolt. They came up with a list of about twenty other blacks to help with the revolt. He told his master about his revolt once, and because he told him, he was beaten for it.

Turner and his friends had came up with a date for the revolt, but because it was a holiday, he figured that there the whites would be drunk, so this would be a good day to do it.

important to the conspirators because it would be the date of their independence, too. All the plans were set and everyone was eager to go. But, Nat had become sick and the revolt was scheduled for a later date. Nat told his friends that he was so excited that it affected his mind and that's why he became sick.

He waited for one final sign, which came on Saturday, August 13. There was a strange darkness in which one could look directly at the sun. It shimmered and changed colors, from blue to white to green. This was visible all along the East Coast, and people became fearful. Suddenly, a black sunspot passed slowly across the surface of the sun. He called his group together this would be the time.

Turner waited for God to send him another sign, so that he could start his revolt against slavery. He had always told himself that he would start a rebellion against slavery one day and