Nat Turner

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Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner was the leader of a slave rebellion that resulted in the deaths of 55 white people. This came as a shock to the white residents of Southampton County, VA. This rebellion, which Turner believed was directed by God, became one of the most famous slave insurrections in U.S. history.
Nat Turner was born in Southampton County, Virginia on October 2, 1800. When Nat was young people noticed he seemed highly intelligent. One incident took place when he was only about three or four years old. While he was playing with other kids, his mother overheard him telling them about something that had happened before he was born. She asked him about the incident, and it confirmed that he knew about this past event. From then on, the slaves believed that in addition to his high intelligence there were signs that he would be a prophet.
When he grew up, he became a preacher. He began having visions that he believed were from God. Turner had three visions before the famous rebellion in 1831. His first vision occurred in 1821, after he had run away. While hiding out in the woods, he was provoked to return after a vision from the Spirit who directed him to "return to the service of my earthly master." After thirty days in the woods, he returned to his master.
The second vision came in 1825 after he saw "lights in the sky." He prayed to find out what it meant. His prayers were answered when “ . . . while laboring in the field, I discovered drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven . . . I then found on the leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the forces of men in different attitudes, portrayed in blood, and representing the figures I had seen before in the heavens."
On May 12, 1828 he had his third vision. He “ . . . 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 t...