The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. As Fully and Voluntarily Made to Thomas R. Gray, in the Prison Where He Was Confined, and Acknowledged by Him to be Such when Read Before the Court of Southampton; With the Certificate, Under Seal of the Court Convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5, 1831, For His Trial. Also, an Authentic Account of the Whole Insurrection.Turner, Nat
History
The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. As Fully and Voluntarily Made to Thomas R. Gray, in the Prison Where He Was Confined, and Acknowledged by Him to be Such when Read Before the Court of Southampton; With the Certificate, Under Seal of the Court Convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5, 1831, For His Trial. Also, an Authentic Account of the Whole Insurrection.
Francis asked who was there, Sam replied it was him, and he
had a letter for him, on which he got up and came to the door; they
immediately seized him, and dragging him out a little from the door, he
was dispatched by repeated blows on the head; there was no other white
person in the family. We started from there for Mrs. Reese's,
maintaining the most perfect silence on our march, where finding the
door unlocked, we entered, and murdered Mrs. Reese in her bed, while
sleeping; her son awoke, but it was only to sleep the sleep of death, he
had only time to say who is that, and he was no more. From Mrs. Reese's
we went to Mrs. Turner's, a mile distant, which we reached about
sunrise, on Monday morning. Henry, Austin, and Sam, went to the still,
where, finding Mr. Peebles, Austin shot him, and the rest of us went to
the house; as we approached, the family discovered us, and shut the
door. Vain hope! Will, with one stroke of his axe, opened it, and we
entered and found Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Newsome in the middle of a room,
almost frightened to death. Will immediately killed Mrs. Turner, with
one blow of his axe. I took Mrs. Newsome by the hand, and with the
sword I had when I was apprehended, I struck her several blows over the
head, but not being able to kill her, as the sword was dull. Will
turning around and discovering it, despatched her also. A general
destruction of property and search for money and ammunition, always
succeeded the murders. By this time my company amounted to fifteen, and
nine men mounted, who started for Mrs. Whitehead's, (the other six were
to go through a by way to Mr. Bryant's, and rejoin us at Mrs.
Whitehead's,) as we approached the house we discovered Mr. Richard
Whitehead standing in the cotton patch, near the lane fence; we called
him over into the lane, and Will, the executioner, was near at hand,
with his fatal axe, to send him to an untimely grave. As we pushed on to
the house, I discovered some one run round the garden, and thinking it
was some of the white family, I pursued them, but finding it was a
servant girl belonging to the house, I returned to commence the work of
death, but they whom I left, had not been idle; all the family were
already murdered, but Mrs. Whitehead and her daughter Margaret. As I
came round to the door I saw Will pulling Mrs. Whitehead out of the
house, and at the step he nearly severed her head from her body, with
his broad axe. Miss Margaret, when I discovered her, had concealed
herself in the corner, formed by the projection of the cellar cap from
the house; on my approach she fled, but was soon overtaken, and after
repeated blows with a sword, I killed her by a blow on the head, with a
fence rail. By this time, the six who had gone by Mr. Bryant's, rejoined
us, and informed me they had done the work of death assigned them. We
again divided, part going to Mr. Richard Porter's, and from thence to
Nathaniel Francis', the others to Mr. Howell Harris', and Mr. T. Doyles.
On my reaching Mr.
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