Nat Turner – 1800–1831

Just before dawn on August 22, 1831, Turner, a slave and lay preacher, led 50 or more fellow slaves in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner and his band killed 60 whites before he and most of the others were apprehended. With 19 followers, Turner was quickly tried and hanged on November 11, 1831. Local whites retaliated against the uprising by randomly killing African Americans in the area. Uprisings such as Turner’s were a great fear of white southerners during the era of slavery.