Nat Turner’s Insurrection

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, September 27, 2009

1. Nat Turner's Insurrection Marker

Inscription. On the night of 21-22 August 1831, Nat Turner, a slave preacher, began an insurrection some seven miles west with a band that grew to about 70. They moved northeast toward the Southampton County seat, Jerusalem (now Courtland), killing about 60 Whites. After two days militiamen and armed civilians quelled the revolt. Turner was captured on 30 October, tried and convicted, and hanged 11 November; some 30 blacks were hanged or expelled from Virginia. In response to the revolt, the General Assembly passed harsher slave laws and censored abolitionists.

Erected 1991 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number U-122.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Law Enforcement • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1831.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 36° 37.143′ N, 77° 11.336′ W. Marker was in Boykins, Virginia, in Southampton County. It was on Maherrin Road (Virginia Route 35) south of Cross

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Keys Road, on the right when traveling south. Marker was south of Courtland and the Southampton Parkway (US Highway 58) and north of the town of Boykins near the North Carolina border. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Boykins VA 23827, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Coastal Virginia

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It was also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named Nat Turner's Insurrection (here, next to this marker); Dr. J.M. Bland (approx. 1.9 miles away); Thomaston (approx. 5½ miles away); a different marker also named "Thomaston" (approx. 5½ miles away); Nottoway Indian History (approx. 6.1 miles away); From Barter… To Buffer… (approx. 6.1 miles away); 1705 Nottoway Reservation (approx. 6.1 miles away); Dred Scott And The Blow Family (approx. 6.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boykins.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Blackhead Signpost Road (was approx. 6.1 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. These are other markers that pertain to the Nat Turner rebellion.

Also see . . .
1. PBS' Africans in America: Nat Turner. (Submitted on September 28, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion. (Submitted on September 28, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
3. “Nat Turner” (song)

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, September 27, 2009

2. Nat Turner's Insurrection Marker

view looking south.

. Written by Joe DeFilippo and performed by the R.J. Phillips Band. (Submitted on August 5, 2019.)

Additional keywords. Southampton Insurrection; slave resistance; rebellion.

Meherrin Road (VA 35) and the Nat Turner's Insurrection Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard E. Miller, September 27, 2009

3. Meherrin Road (VA 35) and the Nat Turner's Insurrection Marker

view looking north toward Cross Keys Road.

"The Discovery of Nat Turner" image. Click for more information.

Via Wikipedia Commons

4. "The Discovery of Nat Turner"

Wood engraving illustrating Benjamin Phipps's capture of Nat Turner (1800-1831) on October 30, 1831. The original print is in the Bettman Archive and was reproduced for Wikipedia from the Encyclopedia Virginia.
Click for more information.

Photographed by Blake Rogers Wilson, October 13, 2025

5. Nat Turner’s Insurrection Marker

On 21 Aug. 1831, enslaved preacher Nat Turner began an insurrection five miles west of here with a force that grew to about 60 men. They killed nearly 60 white people before the revolt was suppressed within two days. In retaliation, white residents and militias killed an indeterminable number of African Americans in Southampton County and beyond. Thirty-one black people were later convicted in court of supporting the revolt; 19 were hanged. Turner was captured on 30 Oct., tried and convicted, and hanged on 11 Nov. In 1832, responding to the nation's deadliest slave revolt, the Virginia General Assembly debated proposals for gradual emancipation but instead tightened laws governing black Virginians."

Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 28, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 15,131 times since then and 258 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week August 21, 2016. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 28, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 5. submitted on October 30, 2025, by Blake Rogers Wilson of Washington, D.c.. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.