Horrid Massacre in Virginia

In August of 1831, seventy slaves in Southampton County, Virginia, revolted and killed 57 whites. The rebels and their leader, minister Nat Turner, were captured and hanged. “Horrid Massacre in Virginia” is an image from a pamphlet published by Samuel Warner nine days before Turner’s capture. The pamphlet, titled Authentic and Impartial Narrative of the Tragical Scene, was the first publication, other than newspaper articles, to document Turner’s revolt. Claiming to be “authentic and impartial,” the pamphlet reported “eye-witness” accounts of the attacks, attributing Turner’s actions to his ability to read and write. In the aftermath of the attack, white vigilantes murdered dozens of slaves and drove hundreds of free people of color into exile. Virginia legislators also limited the activities of African American following the revolt. They made laws restricting slaves’ freedom of assembly and forbade any slave to read, write, or preach.