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.After hiscapture, he seemed more careful than ever to protect them fromthe rage and terror that still gripped the whites of SouthamptonCounty and that had claimed so many lives of the innocent aswell as of the guilty who had been his followers.TURNER S DAY OF JUDGMENTTurner s trial began on November 5.Such a huge crowd hadgathered for it in Jerusalem that the sheriff had recruited extradeputies, fearing that the prisoner would be lynched on hisway to the courthouse.The sheriff felt that it was importantfor Turner to be given the appearance of a fair trial.After Turner was brought into the courtroom in chains, aclerk read the charges against him: Nat, alias Nat Turner, anegro slave, the property of Putnam Moore, an infant, chargedwith conspiring to rebel and making insurrection. William Parker, who was appointed as Turner s defenseattorney, acted fairly, and on the instructions of his client (andprobably to his own surprise), he entered a plea of not guilty.Turner informed his lawyer, the courtroom, and the judge veryclearly that he felt no guilt whatsoever.The first person to testify against Turner was a man namedWaller who had managed to escape from one of the farms thatwas ravaged by the rebels.He stated that Turner did in factcommand the rebels who had killed his wife and children.Turner did not dispute this.Next, Judge Trezevant took the standand repeated the testimony that Turner had given to him on theday after his capture.The clerk then read the long statement thatTurner had given to Gray (later published as the Confessions),which Turner acknowledged to be full, free and voluntary. That was it for the trial.Turner was quickly pronouncedguilty, and he was asked by Judge Cobb, Have you anything tosay why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon you? CH.BAA.NTu.C09.Final.q 8/10/04 8:08 AM Page 7878NAT TURNERTurner was convicted of conspiring to rebel and makeinsurrection, and hanged in front of an eager crowd on thetree seen here.Though it cost him his life, his rebellionsucceeded in proving to Southerners that slaves were neithercontent nor docile and inspiring slaves to hope and strivefor freedom. CH.BAA.NTu.C09.Final.q 8/10/04 8:08 AM Page 7979The First War Nothing but what I ve said before, Turner replied calmly.The judge then delivered a long and passionate speech onthe horrors of rebellion.His voice rose in pitch as he concluded, The judgment of this court is that you.on Friday next,between the hours of 10 A.M.and 2 P.M.be hung by the neckuntil you are dead! dead! dead! and may the Lord have mercyupon your soul. Turner was then valued at $375, which thejudge ordered to be paid to the Moore estate.On the appointed day November 11, 1831 Turner wentunflinchingly to the death that he had chosen over slavery.Hewas not the first nor would he be the last black rebel to behanged in the aftermath of the rebellion.In all, 50 stood trialand 21 were hanged.There were at least 20 and perhaps asmany as 30 more rebellion-related legal executions (notincluding outright lynchings) in neighboring Virginia countiesand in North Carolina.Whether these were actually related toTurner s rebellion, or only thought to be so by the panickedwhites, is not known.All told, the rebellion cost the lives ofapproximately 60 whites and as many as 200 blacks.The heavytoll of slavery and rebellion did not stop there.After all, slaveswere property; and whereas hangings brought personal satis-faction to many whites, destroying property brought financialhardship.Consequently, the governor commuted the sentencesof 10 convicted slaves who were then sold south.Among themwere Turner s wife and daughter.According to legend, one of Turner s sons found his way torelative freedom in Ohio.Another is said to have stayed inSouthampton County.Even today, near the town of Jerusalem(now called Courtland) there is a black storekeeper namedTurner who proudly claims to be Nat Turner s direct descen-dant.In black folklore, The Second War is a phrase that isoften used to refer to the Civil War, a bloody struggle that putan end to slavery in America. The First War was the rebellionled by Nat Turner. CH.BAA.NTu.C10.Final.q 8/10/04 8:10 AM Page 8010Nat Turner s LegacyAs a historical event, Nat Turner s uprising has never lent itselfto easy moral generalization.Ever since the killings of 1831,people have argued about the various interpretations of Turner sactions.Black leaders in particular have been compelled tosort out the precise legacy General Nat left in terms of thefight against racial injustice.This task has been quite difficult.Part of the problem lies in the fact that Turner s meaning andmessage defy any attempt to categorize them as good or bad. Looking back on Turner, one is struck with a profoundsense of ambivalence.His uprising was at once courageousand foolhardy.Turner s conduct and that of his soldiers wasunderstandable but nonetheless murderous.The drama ofhis personal war on slavery cannot be denied but neither canthe tragedy that ultimately befell his followers, victims, andbystanders alike.80 CH.BAA.NTu.C10.Final.q 8/10/04 8:10 AM Page 8181Nat Turner s LegacyThe man himself can be viewed through any number oflenses, depending on an observer s perspective or agenda.Turner is alternately a saint or a sinner, a rebel or a murderer,a legendary hero or an infamous villain.Yale historian DavidW.Blight argues that Nat Turner is a classic example of aniconic figure who is deeply heroic on the one side and deeplyvillainous on the other. Blight contends that people seewhichever Nat Turner they want to see: For those who needa slave rebel, he serves that purpose.For those who need tosee him as a deranged revolutionary who liked slaughteringpeople, they can see that, too.[Turner is] forever our owninvention in some ways. Nat Turner left behind a bittersweet legacy indeed.On onehand, his efforts inspired those who advocated active, forcefulresistance against institutionalized racism in the UnitedStates.Anyone who felt compelled to meet violence withviolence in the quest for civil rights took Turner as one ofhis or her heroes.Hate understands only hate, these peopleclaimed, and force responds only to force.Bending downbefore an oppressor encourages little more than furtheroppression.Turner s uprising represented a bold and morallyjust blow for freedom.On the other hand, Turner s rampage served as a cautionarytale for those who called for passive resistance and nonviolentagitation.His rebellion, this camp contended, accomplishednothing of lasting significance.In fact, popular outrage overthe spilling of innocent blood generated a wave of fear andvengeance that swept over the slave South and actuallystrengthened the system Turner sought to undermine.Duringthe 1830s and 1840s, in the aftermath of the Southamptonrising, new and revised slave codes were enacted to makefreedom less likely and conditions far worse for Southernblacks, both free and slave.For his detractors, Turner s ill-fatedrebellion proved that violence only made matters worse for CH.BAA.NTu.C10.Final.q 8/10/04 8:10 AM Page 8282NAT TURNERWhile in jail awaiting trial, Turner dictated his story to ThomasGray, a local lawyer who published the details of the rebellionas The Confessions of Nat Turner.Though the rebellionresulted in the deaths of about 60 whites and 200 blacks,Turner showed no remorse and maintained that he wasinstructed by God to take actions against whites for theinstitution of slavery. CH.BAA.NTu.C10.Final.q 8/10/04 8:10 AM Page 8383Nat Turner s LegacyAfrican Americans struggling to free themselves from tyrannyof racial hatred and discrimination
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