Nat Turner (October 2, 1800–November 11, 1831) was an enslaved African-American carpenter and preacher who led a four-day insurrection of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion claimed the lives of roughly sixty White men, women, and children before state militias crushed the uprising. Turner was apprehended in October 1831 and executed following a trial in November. Before being executed, he related his account to attorney Thomas Ruffin Grey, who published The Confessions of Nat Turner in November 1831. In 2002, historian Molefi Kete Asante named Nat Turner on his list of the 100 Greatest African Americans. He has appeared in cinema, literature, plays, and several scholarly works.

Turner was highly devout and was frequently observed fasting, praying, or reading biblical stories. He had visions, which he understood as divine messages, and they shaped his life. According to historian Patrick Breen, Nat Turner believed that God used the natural environment as a backdrop for signs and omens. According to Breen, Nat Turner claimed to have a gift of prophecy and the ability to discern divine revelations.

Turner frequently held devotional services, preaching the Bible to his fellow slaves, who dubbed him “The Prophet”. Turner gained some White disciples, including Ethelred T. Brantley, whom Turner baptised after convincing him to “cease from his wickedness” in addition to Blacks. According to historian David Allmendinger, Turner had ten different spiritual encounters between 1822 and 1828. These included manifestations of the Spirit communicating through religious language and scripture, as well as visions of the Holy Ghost. Turner was sure that he “was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty” by the spring of 1828. Turner organised his fellow slaves against captivity in the 1820s, motivated by strong views and, to some extent, religious ideas. His intense spiritual commitment had a significant impact on slaves on Virginia estates. After seeing the eclipse in 1831, Turner was certain that God wanted the revolution to begin.

Turner garnered support for his cause over the course of a decade, ending in an anti-slavery rebellion that inspired later abolitionist organisers and rebels. The four-day revolt began on August 21, 1831.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion claimed the lives of 55 White men, women, and children. This is regarded as the “most deadly slave revolt” in United States history. The uprising was soon put down by the state militia and local troops; in punishment, soldiers and local mobs massacred 36 to 120 Black men, women, and children, many of whom were uninvolved in the revolution. Turner evaded capture and remained hiding in Southampton County. On October 30, a farmer named Benjamin Phipps discovered Turner hiding in a dip in the ground caused by a giant fallen tree wrapped in fence rails. This was locally known as Nat Turner’s cave, despite the fact that it was not a natural cave. Around 1 p.m. on October 31, Turner arrived to the penitentiary in the county capital of Jerusalem, Virginia (now Courtland).

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