The fact that Nat Turner  had soul-deep reasons to be unhappy with the government under which he lived, and the fact that he did something about it, does not equate his actions to those of George Washington or, for that matter, to  Toussaint L'Ouverture, leader of the rebellion in Saint Domingue.   

After several "signs" e.g. visions of blood on field corn,  an eclipse earlier in the year, on  August 21, 1831, Turner met in the woods  with six  men to eat a dinner and make their plans.  Turner later wrote in his confession, that " It was quickly agreed  we should commence at home (Mr. J. Travis), on that night; and until we had armed and equipped ourselves, and gathered sufficient force, neither age nor sex was to be spared-which was invariably adhered to."

 At 2:00 that morning, they set out to the Travis household, where they killed the entire family as they lay sleeping.  It's interesting that during the attacks Turner's followers made, he describes himself as "staying in the rear" and, with one exception in one of the later attacks, not seeing any of the killings.  


Confessions of Nat Turner can be found at 
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h500t.html 

--Joanne






 
 
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