The 1831 Southampton Insurrection, also known as Nat Turner’s Rebellion, is a tragic yet meaningful part of American history. The 21-23 August 1831 uprising shocked the world and added fuel to the great national debate about slavery in the years that culminated in the Civil War and slavery’s abolition. The insurrection was just part of the struggle to end enslavement within a nation founded on the concept that all men are created equal. Yet, the nation still enabled the continuation of human bondage.
Rebecca Vaughan House: A Brief History
The Vaughan Family is thought to have settled in Southampton County about 1750.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
The 1831 Southampton Insurrection was a tremendous explosion near the end of more than 200 years of slavery in English-speaking North America.
Four Freedom Fighters from Southampton
Southampton County was the birthplace of several important freedom fighters before the Civil War. The interstate slave trade from the Upper South to the Deep South caused the breakup of enslaved families.
Rebecca Vaughan House:
Preservation and Rehabilitation
The circa 1795 Rebecca Vaughan House was in a state of disrepair at the end of the 20th century.
Slavery Timeline
August 23 & 26, 1619 — Two Dutch-flagged, English-owned privateers arrive at Old Point Comfort, Virginia and trade 20 Africans for food and water. These ships, Treasurer and White Lion, had captured ‘20 odd negroes’ from the Portuguese slave ship Sao Joao Bautisa off Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion Timeline
October 3, 1800 — Nat Turner is born enslaved on Benjamin Turner’s farm.