Turner’s Revolutionary Revelation - 1828
Capture of Nat Turner.
Introduction
Nat Turner was a slave who led a revolt of African Americans in Virginia that resulted in the massacre of about sixty whites. In retaliation, whites killed at least two hundred blacks, some of whom had taken no part in the uprising. A Baptist minister, Turner experienced visions and was nicknamed “The Prophet” by fellow slaves. A vision on this day 12 May, 1828, convinced him to undertake an uprising against the masters; he does not seem to have had much difficulty gathering followers.
Quote
“I heard a loud voice in the heavens, 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 and fight against the serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.”
Gray, Thomas Ruffin. The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, 1831.