Existing comment:
1831
Nat Turner's Revolt
Rebellion
Nat Turner (1800-1831), an enslaved preacher and self-proclaimed prophet, led the bloodiest slave revolve in U.S. history in Southampton County. Over the course of two days in late August 1831, he and his conspirators killed 58 white men, women, and children before government troops quelled the insurrection.
The state tried and executed Turner and 19 conspirators. White vigilantes retaliated with violence, resulting in about 40 additional deaths.
[Oddly, the sign at the National Museum of African American History and Culture gives totally different numbers:
Nat Turner's Rebellion, 1831
Enslaved people rose up in Southampton County, Virginia, on August 21, 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebels moved across plantations, murdering roughly 55 whites and rally enslaved people. They planned to move on to Jerusalem, Virginia, to seize guns and then make a permanent home in the Great Dismal Swamp. By August 23, the rebels had been defeated. More than 200 black men and women, both enslaved and free, were executed. Nat Turner's Rebellion alarmed Americans and inflamed the debate over slavery.
The Wikipedia entry, citing entries by Patrick Breen, says 56 were executed and 120 were murdered by mobs.] |