"The Confessions of Nat Turner" by Thomas R. Gray and Nat Turner The first line, supposedly spoken by Turner reads, Sir you have asked me to give a history of the motives which induced me to undertake the late insurrection, as you call it (Gray, 5). Nat Turner on His Battle against Slavery. Following his discovery, capture, and arrest over two months after the revolt, Turner was interviewed in his jail cell by Thomas Ruffin Gray, a wealthy Southampton lawyer and slave owner. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance because he could describe events that had transpired in history . By continuing, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. The purpose of his "confession" was not to admit guilt at all. So the first question is, who was Gray and why was he doing this? Return to North American Slave Narratives Home Page, Return to The Church in the Southern Black Community Home Page, Return to The North Carolina Experience Home Page. Efforts to canonize the original Confessions of Nat Turneras a great work of American literature in the 1990s reflected its rising stature within the academy. 2 May 2023