Cold Open

It’s the night of August 21st, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia.

30-year-old enslaved carpenter Nathaniel “Nat” Turner makes his way through the woods toward a farmhouse, a hatchet held low by his side.

Nat pauses at the tree line, holding up a hand to signal the six men following him to halt as well. Nat listens carefully for any sign that there’s someone awake. Being caught out at night wouldn’t end well—Nat and his companions would be punished severely. But Nat thinks that tonight’s mission is worth the risk. He’s going to gain his freedom—and he’s going to do it by force.

An almost full moon lights up the yard as Nat hustles to the door. He takes a deep breath to steel his nerves… before entering the dark house.

Ahead of him, Nat can just see the outline of the stairs. He beckons his men forward and they creep silently up the steps.

At the top, Nat pauses outside a bedroom and points his companions toward other doors further down the hall.

Then, Nat pushes open the bedroom door... and sees Nat’s enslaver, Joseph Travis, asleep in bed. Nat is here to make sure he never wakes up.

So standing over the sleeping man, Nat raises his hatchet above his head and brings it down - hard. He chops again and again until he’s sure the man is dead. As soon as this grisly work is done, Nat carries his dripping hatchet into other bedrooms—but his companions have already killed Joseph’s wife, son, and apprentice. And with these deaths, Nat has won his freedom—but he’s also made himself an outlaw.

Joseph Travis and his family are the first victims of Nat Turner’s rebellion—but they aren’t the last. Over the next two days, dozens more will join the revolt, and the violence will spread, sparking retribution from pro-slavery forces, but also inspiring others to redouble their efforts to abolish slavery, after Nat Turner and six others began a bloody bid for freedom on August 21st, 1831.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is August 21st, 1831: Nat Turner’s Revolt. 

Act One: A Sign from God

It’s February 12th, 1831, on the Travis Farm in Southampton County, Virginia, six months before Nat Turner begins his killing spree.

Nat takes a deep breath, swings his ax over his head, and brings it down with a satisfying crack on the piece of wood he’s splitting. It’s a cold day, but the physical work is keeping Nat warm. As an enslaved carpenter, Nat is used to long and tiring days.

But Nat’s enslaver doesn’t know that his carpenter harbors a secret. Almost a decade ago, when Nat was 20, he heard a voice in his head speaking words from the Bible. Ever since then, Nat has been convinced that God speaks directly to him and sends him divine visions in his dreams. Nat fervently believes that he’s been told by God to free his people from slavery. He’s just not sure when or how.

After another swing of the ax, Nat feels the air's temperature drop. He swings again but pauses when he realizes that the light is dimming too. Nat looks up from his work and is taken aback about what he sees in the sky: a piece of the sun is missing.

Over the next few minutes, a dark disc blots out the sun completely. Virginia is cast into an eerie shadow and Nat’s heartbeat quickens. The dark sky reminds him of a dream he had in which black and white spirits fought each other. As the sun slowly reappears from behind the disc, Nat believes he has received another message from God exhorting him to end slavery and free the Black people of Virginia.

So, as soon as he gets a chance, Nat seeks out four fellow enslaved laborers who he trusts. He tells them that he’s been chosen by God to free his people. He shares with them the details of his visions. And then he explains that the recent eclipse is a sign. The time has come to rise up.

Nat then details his plan - they’ll move house by house, killing white families, liberating the enslaved, and recruiting more freedom fighters to join them until they have an army large enough to begin a revolution.

Nat’s four friends know that this plan has little chance of success, but they’re all tired of the abuses inflicted upon them and agree to join Nat’s rebellion.

Aware that he’ll be executed if his plot is discovered, Nat keeps the number of conspirators low. The fewer people involved, the less a chance that someone will betray them. But figuring out how to pull off a revolt with such a small group takes time.

At first, they plan their uprising for a symbolic date five months after the eclipse: July 4th, America’s Independence Day. But as the day approaches, Nat has second thoughts and postpones the revolt, unwilling to sacrifice his friends in what seems to be a suicidal venture.

But then Nat receives another sign on August 13th, when the sky turns dark again. Although the unusual daytime gloom is probably down to the eruption of Mount Saint Helens 3,000 miles away, Nat interprets it as a signal from God not to put off his revolt any longer.

So, on the afternoon of August 21st, 1831, Nat and his friends meet up in woodland near the Travis Farm. They eat a meal of roast pig and drink apple brandy, toasting to the success of their mission. But Nat’s heart sinks when two more enslaved laborers walk out of the shadows. They’ve heard about Nat’s plan and want to join.

Nat is uneasy at the arrival of the newcomers. Although he’s pleased that more men want to join the cause, he’s worried that news of the revolt has leaked. Perhaps the enslavers will have heard too, and be ready for them. But Nat also knows that this leak means he has no choice but to see his plan through and hope for the best.

Over the next few minutes, Nat and his newly enlarged band of revolutionaries will sneak into the Travis Farm—and Nat will be relieved to find that his enslavers had no idea he was coming. Nat will show no mercy, and by the time he leaves, four people will be dead. But this is just the beginning of Nat’s crusade, a campaign of retribution that will shock the nation with its brutality and plunge fear into the hearts of Virginia’s enslavers.

Act Two: Charlotte and Ester

It’s the morning of August 22nd, 1831, on the Francis Farm in Southampton County, only a few hours after the bloodbath at the Travis Farm.

Charlotte, an enslaved cook who works in the Francis farmhouse, slams a pot down on the countertop. She turns around to confront Ester, another woman enslaved by the Francis family.

Earlier that morning, a group of Black men armed with rudimentary weapons arrived at the farm. Charlotte recognized their leader as Nat Turner, an enslaved carpenter. Nat told them that he was a prophet who had received visions from God—and it was at God’s command that he was leading a crusade against the families who enslave Black people. Over the course of the morning, Nat’s men killed the overseer and two white apprentices. He encouraged the enslaved men of the farm to join their uprising and ransacked the property as they searched for the Francis family. Then, they moved on.

After the rebels left, Charlotte and Ester began cooking a meal in case they returned, figuring that was the best way they could support the revolt. But as they prepared the food, Charlotte and Ester began to argue. They assumed that their enslaver Nathaniel Francis and his wife, Lavinia, had been killed—and both Charlotte and Ester want the first choice of Lavinia’s jewelry and clothes.

But as the two argue, the very much alive - Lavinia, stumbles into the kitchen, begging for help. She heard Nat Turner’s rebels arrive and hid in the attic, but fainted from the suffocating heat. Charlotte and Ester stare at Lavinia in horror. If she overheard Charlotte and Ester arguing over her belongings, the consequences will be deadly.

So, Charlotte decides she can’t take the risk and moves toward Lavinia with a knife in her hand. But before she can strike, Ester steps between them, unwilling to be a party to murder. In the tense seconds that follow, Lavinia stumbles out of the kitchen to safety—and rushes away to warn others about Nat Turner’s revolt.

But before word gets out, Nat’s rebellion grows. His armed band calls at several more farms in Southampton County. And at each stop, they kill the white plantation owners and seize their horses, guns, and food. Men, women, and children are among the victims, and by the afternoon of August 22nd, 1831, nearly 50 people are dead.

And with every farm the rebels pass, more enslaved men join them. Soon, Nat’s army has grown to 30 people, and he’s ready to march on the county seat of Jerusalem. He wants to take the town and seize the supplies there. But along the way, Nat makes a fatal mistake—he agrees to make one more stop at a plantation to recruit more fighters.

During this delay, word gets around that the enslaved workers of Southampton County are rebelling. Church bells ring to sound the alarm. White women and children go into hiding, while white men arm themselves to fight back. As Nat’s army returns from its raid on the plantation, a group of 18 armed white men on horseback catches up with them. Nat’s rebels fight back using muskets they’ve plundered during their raids, but now they’ve lost the element of surprise. When they approach a bridge leading to Jerusalem, Nat sees that the path is blocked by a white militia. With no way forward, Nat is forced to retreat and seek shelter in the woods.

Early the next morning, Nat’s men march away from Jerusalem and attack the Belmont Plantation—but for the first time, they find a plantation owner who is ready for them. He and his family have barricaded themselves into the house and fire their muskets at Nat’s fighters. Eventually, white militiamen arrive and chase Nat’s men into the woods again.

There, most of Nat’s rebels are hunted down, captured, or killed. But Nat proves harder to find. He is used to being in the forest and uses his knowledge of the land to evade capture.

But while Nat remains in hiding, white Virginians come to terms with the deadliest rebellion of enslaved people in American history. 55 white men, women, and children are dead—and there are angry demands for revenge. The surviving rebels from Nat’s army are all hanged. But the enslavers also take out their vengeance on the other enslaved and free Black people across the county, many of whom had nothing to do with rebellion. Countless Black Virginians are beaten and tortured for information. Over a hundred other Black people are killed.

But the man the white authorities want most is still missing. Some speculate that Nat has fled to amass a new army. But he hasn’t gone far.

After six weeks on the run, on October 30th, 1831, Nat will be discovered under a pile of fence rails not far from the Travis Farm where the rebellion began. The man who struck fear into the hearts of white enslavers will be starving and exhausted, but he’ll still be marched to court and made to answer for what he’s done.

Act Three: Nat Turner’s Trial

It’s November 5th, 1831, in the courthouse in Jerusalem, Virginia, less than three months after Nat Turner’s rebellion came to an end.

Nat rises from his seat and looks the chief magistrate in the eye as the verdict of the court is about to be read.

Three months ago, Nat hoped to conquer Jerusalem as part of his revolt against slavery. Today, though, he’s in the same town as a prisoner. Nat has already admitted to his role in the insurrection, explaining that he had been ordained by God to free his people. But the expressions on the all-white panel judging Nat’s case make it clear that they viewed his defense with disdain. It’s only taken them a few minutes to reach their verdict.

Nat listens calmly as the chief magistrate declares him guilty of “conspiring to rebel and making insurrection.” He is then sentenced to death. Then, because Nat is viewed by the law as property, the judge assigns him a value for the sake of compensation. Nat’s life is assessed at $375. Six days later, Nat is put to death.

But the death of the rebellion’s leader is not enough to satisfy the white authorities in Virginia. Over the next few months, the state legislature enacts harsh laws that oppress the rights of both enslaved and free Black people in the state. Black prayer meetings are banned unless a white person is present. And because Nat Turner was educated, teaching enslaved people to read and write is made illegal. It will take another 34 years - and a far larger conflict - before slavery is finally banned in the United States. But even after the American Civil War, the Black citizens of Virginia will continue to suffer from racist abuse and oppression.

Today, Nat Turner’s rebellion has a complicated legacy. Some view the uprising as the inevitable result of an institution that dehumanizes people. Others remain uncomfortable with the violence meted out, especially to children. But while his rebellion ultimately failed, Nat Turner became a lasting symbol of defiance and a striking example of the lengths people will go to for freedom after he sparked the deadliest revolt of enslaved people in American history on August 21st, 1831.

Outro

Next on History Daily. August 22nd, 1770. Explorer James Cook lays claim to New South Wales, Australia by raising the British flag on Possession Island.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Ruben Abrahams Brosbe.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.