A born lover of freedom, as surely as were Robert Bruce, Oliver Cromwell, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Simon Bolivar, and Garibaldi, he experienced what none of these patriots had, namely, the lash of the slave whip. But even that Could not tame him. What right, he demanded of himself, with ever-increasing bitterness and vigor, had white men to treat him like an ox simply because he was black when an indomitable soul within told him he was as good as they. Revolt was born in his soul. He thought of his father who, brought as a slave to America, had escaped and had somehow made his way back to Africa. He tried to escape too, but was caught and brutally flogged.

This experience maddened him all the more against his master and all white people. But it made him more sensitive to the sufferings of his fellow slaves. Deeply religious, he told himself that God had caused him to fail because he had tried to escape alone. He resolved that when he left the next time, he would be taking the other slaves with him. Thereafter he spent his waking moments planning how to do this. His conduct up to the time of his escape had been exemplary. He was never known to drink, swear, or steal. Very intelligent, he had learned to read with so much ease that he later said he did not know when he started to do so. Once when as a little child a book with pictures was given to him to stop him from crying, he began spelling out the names of the objects. He was also skilled at making pottery and knew how to make gunpowder.

A born mystic, his Sunday School teachings made him even more so. His feet trod the earth but his spirit roamed in regions beyond earthly confines. As Mohammed, the camel driver, driver, "heard" the spirit bidding him go forth to preach the doctrine of the One God; as Constantine the Great "saw" a sign in the sky bidding him conquer for Christendom; as Joan of Arc "heard" voices in the forest bidding her arise and drive the English from France; just as surely Nat Turner "heard" voices as he walked behind the plough bidding him arise and free his people. "Such is your luck," said the voices, "such you are called to see. Let it come rough or smooth. You must surely bear it." He saw "visions" as did St. John in the Revelation forecasting his own, living mission. In the sky he saw black hosts and white ones battling and shutting out the light of the sun. The thunder rolled, blood flowed like a river, and then came shouts of victory. The blacks had won because they had God and the right on their side. At times he "saw" Christ stretched on a cross the whole breadth of the skies. On the leaves of corn were drops of blood-Christ's blood, shed for all men, white and black alike. In the woods and on the leaves "appeared" letters and numbers and the figures of men. He fasted, prayed, read his Boble, and withdrew from fellow slaves. His hallucinations increased.

On May 12, 1828, the "Holy Sprit" appeared to him and told him that the yoke of Jesus had fellen on him and that he must be prepared to fight against the serpent. When the time came, he would see a sign in the sky; until then, there should be a seal on his lips. Three years later in February, I83 I, the sign came. There was an eclipse of the sun. The sky was darkened just as his vision and the Bible had "predicted." From heaven he "heard a voice" saving, "Arise and slay the enemies of God with their own weapons.'' He was so affected that for days he trembled as if with ague. He had been telling himself for years that he needed disciples and now he felt their need more than ever. Ail that time he had been observing his fellow slaves closely and felt that at least four of them could be trusted. Now that "the seal" had been removed from his lips, he told all to the four.

These recommended three others, making a total of seven. At noon, Sunday, August 3I, 1831, the seven, Henry, Hercules, Nelson, Sam, Will, Jack, and Nat, went off for a barbecue in the woods, taking a pig, a bag of potatoes, and a jug of cider. Nat could play the guitar, and as he passed his master's mansion, he strummed a spiritual while the others sang. Such carefree mortals, Master Travis felt, certainly were not up to mischief.

The conspirators spent all day in the woods, laying their plans and taking a solemn oath that they would gain liberty or die. They planned to attack the whites in Southampton County, capture it as Washington had done during the Revolution, and retreat to Dismal Swamp. There they would establish headquarters and assemble their forces for a bigger blow. They would strike that night. Cromwell, Washington, Garibaldi, and Bolivar started out with an army of trained soldiers, equipped with good weapons. Nat Turner and his valiant band of six had only farm implements as their arms. They returned at midnight. The master and his family were sound asleep. Planting a ladder against a window, Nat mounted it, sneaked into the mansion, and opened the front door for the others. Taking all the weapons they could find, they tiptoed up to the master's bedroom. Now for the reckoning with the man who had been so cruel to them.

Creeping into the room, Nat struck Travis on the head with a hatchet. The blow glanced off, and Travis leaped to his feet, blood gushing from the wound. When he shouted for help, Will brained him.Mrs. Travis came running in--she met the same fate. When Nat and his men left the house, the other four members of the family, including the baby, were no more. Nat told himself that it was a wicked thing he had done. But he silenced his conscience by recalling how the white people had stolen his people from Africa and how they had mistreated them ever since. He knew also that if the whites got the upper hand, they were going to wreak awful vengeance on guilty and innocent alike. Mounted on Travis' horses, the seven galloped off to the next plantation where they killed everyone. Nat was no longer plain slave. He was now General Cargill.

Before morning dawned, he had collected an army of fifty. Riding ahead with a mounted guard, he surrounded each mansion, holding it besieged until his foot soldiers arrived to complete the slaughter. In this way some fifty white persons were killed without the loss of a single man by the attackers. The neighborhood was sparsely settled by whites. Not far away was Jerusalem, the county seat. Nat meant to surprise the inhabitants and kill them before the news of his invasion could reach Richmond or Peterburg. He would seize arms, ammunition, and money.

Nat Turner continued...
Slaves Narratives - Mary Reynolds
return to American Slavery Exhibit - Part 3

References:
Marcus Garvery - Nat Turner: http://www.marcusgarvey.com/wmview.php?ArtCat=12
Nat Turner: http://www.saskschools.ca/~cudworth/naturner.html