by John V. Quarstein

The 1831 Southampton Insurrection is a tragic but meaningful chapter in American history. The slave uprising of 21-23 August 1831 shocked the world and added fuel to the great national debate about slavery in the years that culminated in the Civil War and slavery’s abolition. The insurrection was just part of the struggle to end slavery within a nation founded on the concept that all men are created equal. Yet, the nation still enabled slavery’s continuation.

Many issues caused some enslaved persons to seek their freedom; however, the most powerful attempted solution was the 1831 Southampton Slave Insurrection, also known as Nat Turner’s Rebellion. On Sunday afternoon, 21 August 1831, Nat Turner met six of his followers in a reptile-infested swamp. A literate religious mystic and preacher, Turner believed that he had seen signs from Heaven to release his fellow enslaved people from bondage. An eclipse of the sun on 11 February and a strange atmospheric condition on 14 August prompted Turner to strike. He told his followers that they must begin their revolution now and to slay all enslavers they encountered. Even though they had no weapons, they would obtain them from their oppressors, and many recruits would join Turner’s army as they marched through Southampton County, striking hard for liberty.

They struck first at the Joseph Travis House on the evening of 21 August 1831, thus beginning the revolt.  Turner and his men killed more than 50 enslavers when they reached the Rebecca Vaughan House about noon on 22 August. The last deaths of landowners occurred there. Turner’s command now numbered about 60 men. All were mounted and armed with guns, axes, swords, and clubs, Turner decided to march his supporters to Jerusalem (now Courtland, Virginia); however, their path was blocked by the Southampton Militia at Parker’s Field and Cypress Bridge.

On 23 August 1831, Turner was defeated at Dr. Simon Blunt’s house, ‘Belmont’ and the Newitt Harris House. At Belmont, Blunt’s family and their enslaved people repulsed Turner’s men in a quick engagement. Virginia and North Carolina militias also further scattered the insurgents. Militia units then enacted a harsh revenge until  soldiers from Fort Monroe and Marines and sailors from Gosport Navy Yard arrived from Hampton Roads.

The 1831 Southampton Insurrection is a tragic but meaningful chapter in American history. The slave uprising of 21-23 August 1831 shocked the world and added fuel to the great national debate about slavery in the years that culminated in the Civil War and slavery’s abolition. The insurrection was just part of the struggle to end slavery within a nation founded on the concept that all men are created equal. Yet, the nation still enabled slavery’s continuation.

Many issues caused some enslaved persons to seek their freedom; however, the most powerful attempted solution was the 1831 Southampton Slave Insurrection, also known as Nat Turner’s Rebellion. On Sunday afternoon, 21 August 1831, Nat Turner met six of his followers in a reptile-infested swamp. A literate religious mystic and preacher, Turner believed that he had seen signs from Heaven to release his fellow enslaved people from bondage. An eclipse of the sun on 11 February and a strange atmospheric condition on 14 August prompted Turner to strike. He told his followers that they must begin their revolution now and to slay all enslavers they encountered. Even though they had no weapons, they would obtain them from their oppressors, and many recruits would join Turner’s army as they marched through Southampton County, striking hard for liberty.

They struck first at the Joseph Travis House on the evening of 21 August 1831, thus beginning the revolt.  Turner and his men killed more than 50 enslavers when they reached the Rebecca Vaughan House about noon on 22 August. The last deaths of landowners occurred there. Turner’s command now numbered about 60 men. All were mounted and armed with guns, axes, swords, and clubs, Turner decided to march his supporters to Jerusalem (now Courtland, Virginia); however, their path was blocked by the Southampton Militia at Parker’s Field and Cypress Bridge.

On 23 August 1831, Turner was defeated at Dr. Simon Blunt’s house, ‘Belmont’, and the Newitt Harris House. At Belmont, Blunt’s family and their enslaved people repulsed Turner’s men in a quick engagement. Virginia and North Carolina militias also further scattered the insurgents. Militia units then enacted a harsh revenge until soldiers from Fort Monroe and Marines and sailors from Gosport Navy Yard arrived from Hampton Roads.

NAT TURNER’S REBELLION: FACTUAL AND UNBIASED RETELLING

Over ten years ago the Southampton Historical Society embarked on an effort to present Nat Turner’s Rebellion in a factual, unbiased fashion. At that time only one state historical marker stood to mention this terrible event; yet, more needed to be done to tell the facts about enslavement and freedom.. When the Southampton County Historical Society moved the Rebecca Vaughan House five miles from its original site on Barrow Road to Courtland, Virginia for rehabilitation, it realized that this National Register of Historic Places property could serve as the Visitor Center for what was soon known as the Nat Turner Trail. The house will contain such unique artifacts as Nat Turner’s sword, the lock from his jail cell and much more. Also using interpretative signs and a SmartPhone app, travelers will be able to see 40 sites associated with the causes, events, and aftermath of the 1831 Southampton Slave Insurrection.

STORIES OF SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY

Southampton County was the birthplace of several important freedom fighters. These men were motivated by slavery’s oppressive nature and the interstate slave trade’s break-up of enslaved families. The rising desire for freedom caused many Africans to seek ways to end slavery.

Nat Turner took the violent approach, organizing his rebellion. Dred Scott selected the legal process, resulting in the US Supreme Court’s landmark Dred Scott Decision.  Anthony Gardiner, later the 9th president of Liberia, followed the American Colonization Society’s ‘Back to Africa’ movement. John ‘Fed’ Brown became a fugitive, escaping via the Underground Railway, he made his way to Great Britain, where he published a widely read book about his horrific experiences as an enslaved person.

The stories of these Southampton natives help define the evils of slavery. Through them, we can understand how the United States evolved into a nation where all men are created equal.