Nat Turner and His Rebellion Trivia Quiz

Answer: Virginia

Nat Turner was born into slavery in Southampton County, Virginia on October 2, 1800. Southampton County is located on the southern border of Virginia and North Carolina. By the time of Nat Turner's rebellion, the area had more free and enslaved blacks than whites.

Answer: He had a vision from God telling him to return

Turner was deeply religious and had learned to read in his youth, largely by studying the Bible. Although he ran away when he was 21, after becoming delirious from hunger, he believed he had a vision from God telling him to return to his master. He became a preacher among his fellow slaves and continued to have visions, which earned him the nickname of "The Prophet." According to Deborah Gray-White in "Freedom on my mind: A History of African Americans," one day, while working in the fields, on May 12, 1828, Nat had a vision that he should "fight against the Serpent."

Answer: False

A description of Nat Turner in the National Intelligencer newspaper after the rebellion described him as being only 5 foot 6 inches tall. He was also said to be broad shouldered and of light complexion. A $500 reward was offered for his capture.

Answer: A solar eclipse

The solar eclipse occurred in on February 12, 1831. Turner took it as a sign from God to begin plotting. Over the next few months, he met in secret with his coconspirators to plan. Another event involving the sky further confirmed his belief that the rebellion was ordained of God and should begin shortly.

In August, an atmospheric disturbance, perhaps attributable to the eruption of Mount St. Helens, caused the sky to appear hazy and bluish-green with light.

Answer: Four days

The rebellion lasted four days before being suppressed on August 23, 1831 at Belmont Plantation. Nat Turner, however, survived in hiding for another several weeks before being captured.

Answer: False

They killed men, women, and children as they moved from house to house using axes, knives, and other blunt instruments. Nat Turner himself confessed to killing a woman using a fence post. They did, however, spare a few houses inhabited by poor white people suffering from terrible economic conditions. Approximately sixty people were killed in the rebellion.

The retaliation was fierce, with militias and mobs throughout the region killing scores of blacks, many of them uninvolved in the rebellion. The total number of deaths is unknown, but estimates range as high as 200. Some slaveowners submitted petitions to the legislature for compensation for the loss of their slaves who were killed without trial, but they were rejected.

Answer: In a foxhole on an Indian reservation

Nat Turner was spied by a white farmer in his hiding place among the Nottoway people on their reservation. He was hiding in a foxhole by a fallen tree surrounded by brushwood. Nat Turner's descendants now own the land on which he was captured, according to an article in "The Tidewater News" titled "Nat Turner's descendants offer his hiding place to be part of driving tour."

The Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia today live in Southampton County, Surry County, and the Tidewater region of Virginia.

Answer: He was hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Nat Turner was sentenced to death on November 5, 1831 for insurrection and was hanged on November 11, after which his corpse was drawn and quartered. Some accounts claim his corpse was skinned and dissected and his bones distributed among white families as souvenirs. Given Nat Turner's belief in the divine inspiration of his rebellion, it is interesting to note that he was executed in a Virginia town called Jerusalem.

Answer: yes

Fifteen slaves and four free blacks were acquitted of the charges against them. The Virginia legislature responded to the rebellion by introducing a police bill that took the right of trial by jury from free blacks and subjected them to sale into slavery if they were convicted of a crime.

Answer: His Bible

The small Bible was kept in the Pearson family of South Hampton for generations. In 2012, Maurice Pearson donated it to the museum.