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~W B C“~‘° ILLUSTRATED FEATURE SECTION— September 10. 1932 B,BBON *"
> The First
i John Brown
He Heard a Voice from Heaven Say, “Strike a Blow for Freedom**
AT » <
TURNER
Left—Two methods of punishing slaves whose bodies were made naked in order that the pain of the lash and the paddle would be as severe as
possible. Note the stick through the slave’s knees and how the female slave is tied .to the ground. On the right, Nat Turner and his
crowd begin the massacre of slave-holders in Southhampton County, Virginia, and the burning of the plantations.
Drawing by Fred Watson Irom Illustrations in Dr. Carter Woodson's book the "Negro In Our History." _
Nat Turner, a slave born October
2, 1800, in Southampton, Virginia,
struck a blow at the vicious sys
tem of slavery in the United States,
that upset the whcle smug and
complacent attitude of the Ameri
can in the period prior to the Civil
War.
He inspired in the hearts of all
slaveholders the fear born of cow
ardice. andi made his name anathe
ma to the heads of households from
one end of the country to the other,
North and South.
One black man sent a whole na
tion floundering into an orgy of
foolish laws, built on fear of the
colored man; laws that aimed to
blot out all blacks, bond and free.
Nat Turner was of unmixcd Ne
gro blood. His father, a native of
Africa, escaped from slavery and
emigrated to Liberia, where his
grave is looked upon as a national
•hrine.
With a m-nd naturally restless
»nd active, he learned to read and
write easily. By intuition and study,
when not working for his master,
he manufactured paper, gunpowder,
pottery, and some common articles.
Heard Voices
His utter belief in the idea that
he was born to do a great deed, to
unlock a hidden spring, whose wa
ter would well up and flow over the
country, gave him the zest and al
most incredible faith that quicken
ed his understanding and percep
tion by self-study.
To follow his thought in nis own
words, he said:
"I saw white spirits and black
spirits engaged in battle, and the
sun darkened—the thunder rolled
in the heavens, and blood flowed in
streams and I heard a voice say
ing, ‘Such is your luck, such you are
called to see, and let it come rough
or smooth you must surely bear
if."
Like Joan of Arc, Turner spent
hours in fasting and praying. This
in 1825.
On August 21, 1831, this slave,
hardly beyond the years of young
manhood, met six men, who had
pledged their co-operation and sup
port in the wo:ds of Southampton
County. These men were Hark
Travis, Henry Porter, Samuel Fran
cis, Nelson Williams, Will Francis,
and Jack Reese. They worked out
plans while thej ate, remaining
long after midnight.
The massacre was begun at the
house of Joseph Travis, the man
to whcm Nat Turner then belonged.
Armed with a hatchet, Turner en
tered his master’s chamber, the
door having been broken open with
an axe, and aimed the first blow of
death. The hatchet glanced harm
lessly from the head of the would
be victim and the first fatal blow
was given by Will Francis, the one
of the party who had got into the
plot without Turnerls suggestion.
All of his master’s household, five
in number, soon perished.
Old Muskets
The insurgents procured four
guns, several old muskets, with
a few rounds cl ammunition.
At the barn, under the command
of Turner, the party was drilled
ard maneuvered. Turner himself
assumed the title ot General .fargill
with a stipend of ten dollars a day.
Henry Porter, the paymaster, was
ta receive five dollars a day, and
each private one dollar.
Thence they marched from plan
tation to plantation until by Mon
day morning the party numbered
fifteen with nine mounted. Before
nine o’clock the force had increased
t-o forty and the insurgents had
covered an extent of territory two
or three miles distant from the first
point of attack, sweeping everything
before them.
Used Horses
Turner generally took his station
in the rear, with fifteen cr twenty
of the best armed and reliable men
at the front, who usually approach
ed the houses as fast as their horses
could run for the double purpose of
preventing escapes and of striking
terror. His force continued to in
crease until they numbered sixty,
all armed with guns, axes, swords,
and clubs, and mounted.
This line of attack was kept up
until late Monday afternoon, when
they were about three miles distant
from Jerusalem, the county seat,
where Turner reluctantly halted
while some of his men went in
search of re-enforcements. He was
eager k> push on to the county seat
and capture it as soon as possible,
and this delay proved the turning
point in the enterprise.
Battle with 18
Impatient at the delay of his men
who had turned aside. Turner start
ed to the mansion house where they
had gone and on their return to
the wood found a party of white
men who had pursued the bloody
path of the insurrectionists and dis
posed of the guard of eight men
whom Turner had left at the road
side.
There were eighteen white men
under the command of Captain
Alexander P. Peete. They haul been
directed to reserve their fire until
within thirty paces, but one of them
fired on the insurgents when within
about one hundred yards.
Half of the whites retreated when
Turner ordered his men to fire and
rush on them. The few remaining
white men stood their ground until
Turner approached within fifty
yards, when they too fired and re
treated with several wounded.
Turner pursued and overtook
some of them and their complete
slaughter was only prevented by
the timely arrival of a party of
whites approaching in another di
rection from Jerusalem.
Turner then determined to cross
the Nottoway River and attack Je
rusalem where he hoped to obtain
additional ammunition and arms,
which plan was unsuccessful. His
fortes • were then attacked and a
retreat followed. After this Turner
never saw many of his men any
more.
Turner concealed himself in the
woods, but was not discouraged, for,
by messenger, he directed his forces
to rally at the point where cn the
previous Sunday, they had started
their bloody work, but the discov
ery of white men riding around the
place, convinced him that he had
been betrayed.
The leader then gave up hope of
an immediate attack, and on
Thursday, after supplying himself
with provisions from the old plan
tation, he scratched a hole under a
pile of fence rails m a field and
concealed himself for nearly eix
weeks, never leaving his hiding
place except for a few minutes in
the quiet of night to obtain water.
Reign of Terror
A reign of terror followed in Vir
ginia. Labor was paralyzed, plan
tations abandoned, women and
children were driven from home
and many refugees spent night af
ter night in the woods. Retaliation
began.
In a little more than one day 120
slaves were killed. One white slave
holder boasted that he himself had
killed between ten and fifteen Ne
groes. Newspapers contained from
day to day protests against the
cruelties performed. White volun
teers rode in all directions visiting
plantations, torturing Negroes and
committing nameless atrocities.
Slaves who were distrusted were
pointed out and shot down if they
endeavored to escape.
Englishman Mobbed
But these outrages were not lim
ited to the population.. An English
man. named Robinson, who was a
book-seller in Petersburg, stood
guard with others at the bridge
when word was given out that five
hundred Negroes were marching
against the town. After the panic
had subsided, he made the remark
that the blacks were entitled to
their freedom and ought , to be
emancipated. This led to great ex
citement and the man was warned
to leave town. He took passage in
a stage coach, but the vehicle was
stopped. He then took refuge in a
friend’s house, but it was broken
open and he was delivered to the
mob. The civil authorities, when
informed of the affair, refused to
interfere. The mob stripped him,
gave him a considerable number of
lashes and sent him on foot, naked
under a hot sun to Richmond,
whence he, with difficulty, found
passage to New York.
Turner Had No Losses
Sixty-one white persons were kill
ed, but not a slave was slain in any
of the encounters led by Turner.
Fitty-three slaves were arrested, 11
| of them were convicted and execut
ed, 12 convicted and transported, 10
acquitted, seven discharged and
four sent on to the Superior Court.
Four of those convicted and trans
ported were boys. Only four free
Negroes were brought to trial, one
of whom was discharged and the
ether three finally executed. It Is
said that they were given decent
burials.
Wild Rumors
In North Carolina there came a
rumor that Negro insurgents had
burnt Wilmington, massacred its
inhabitants, and that 2,000 were
marching on Raleigh. This war not
true, but a plot had been worked
out which was revealed by a free
Negro. This caused Raleigh and
Fayettesville to be put under mili
tary defense. Many arrests were
made, several whipped and released
and three of the leaders executed.
One of these, a very intelligent
black preacher named David, was
convicted on the testimony of an
other slave.
In South Carolina, Governor
Hayne issued a proclamation to
quiet rumors of similar uprisings.
In Macon, Ga., the entire popu
lation was aroused at midnight by
rumors of an onslaught. Slaves
were arrested and tied to trees
while white captains of the militia
hacked at them with swords.
In Alabama there were rumors
of a joint conspiracy of Negroes and
Indians.
At New Orleans the excitement
was at such ~ height that a report
that 1,200 stands of arms were
found in a black man’s house, was
readily believed.
Dog Led to Arrest
But the public was not satisfied
with this public revenge. Nat Turn
er was still at large. He had elud
ed his would-be captors ever since
the day of the raid in August. That
he was finally captured was more
the result of accident than of de
sign. A dog belonging to some of
Nat Turner’s acquaintances scented
some meat in the cave where Turn
er was hiding, and stole it while he
was absent. Shortly after, two
colored men. one the owner of the
dog, were hunting with the same
dog. The dog barked at Tinner
Continued on Page Four
