The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831) is a historical pamphlet by Nat
Turner and Thomas Ruffin Gray. Published shortly after Turner's
execution, The Confessions of Nat Turner is comprised of an interview
with the revolutionary in the days leading up to his death, as well as
independent research conducted by Gray, an attorney who represented some
of the rebels involved. "And on the 12th of May, 1828, I heard a loud
noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said
the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had born
for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the
Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last
and the last shall be first." Known as "The Prophet" by his fellow
enslaved people, Nat Turner was an inspiring preacher who planned and
executed an insurrection against the white slaveholding class in
Southampton County, Virginia in the summer of 1831. Although his
rebellion was crushed, leading to the execution and lynching of over a
hundred African Americans in the area, his message of liberation lived
on, inspiring generations of abolitionists and revolutionaries in
opposition to slavery and oppression throughout the United States and
the world. This pamphlet, published shortly after his trial and
execution, contains a powerful interview conducted by Thomas Ruffin
Gray, an attorney who worked on the case and met Turner in the jailhouse
where he was held. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally
typeset manuscript, this edition of The Confessions of Nat Turner is a
classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
