Item
Bibliographic Resource

The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia

Title of the Document
The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia
One Line Summary
This is a firsthand account of the motivations and actions behind Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion, spoken by Nat Turner.
Author
Nat Turner and Thomas R Gray
Date Created
November 5, 1831
Location
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
Type of Document
Pamphlet
Publisher
Thomas R. Gray, 1831
Transcription
The Confessions of Nat Turner is a pamphlet with a small font and black ink. The original copy has an aged look, being a yellow or brown color on the pages due to the 19th-century paper on which it was written.
The cover of the pamphlet is not hard cover but rather of a weak material. The pamphlet is approximately eight
inches by five inches.
This pamphlet is the earliest known narrative account of Nat Turner’s rebellion. In this document,
Turner describes his early life and upbringing, religious visions, his planning of the rebellion, the rebellion itself, and his hiding and capture. It was published within weeks of Turner’s trial and execution and served as both a news document and a justification for the fear among whites.
Related
Thomas R. Gray (Virginia lawyer who interviewed Turner while
he was in jail), Benjamin Turner (Nat Turner’s original enslaver), Joseph Travis (Turner’s enslaver at the time of the rebellion), and other rebels involved in Nat Turner’s Rebellion.
Nat Turner (1800-1831)
Provenance
“The confessions of Nat Turner, the leader of the late insurrection in Southampton, Va. as fully and voluntarily
made to Thomas R. Gray, in the prison where he was confined, and acknowledged by him to be such when read
before the court of Southampton: with the certificate, under seal of the court convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5,
1831, for his trial. Also, an authentic account of the whole insurrection, with lists of the whites who were
murdered, and of the negroes brought before the court of Southampton, and there sentenced, &c, 1831,” Rare
Books, Library of Congress