Alexandrian Reaction to the Nat Turner Revolt

On August 21, 1831, an enslaved man named Nat Turner led a revolt of slaves in Southampton, Virginia. It was unsuccessful of course, but it created the hardening of laws in regards to freemen and slaves in the Commonwealth.[1] Broadly speaking, Turner had initiated a social justice movement, albeit a violent one. One month later, 46 free Black residents of Alexandria published a petition in the local newspaper asserting their loyalty to the “authorities of the town.” [2] To the petitioners, Turner’s movement potentially imperiled their own precarious sovereignty. 

 This is a breakdown of Hayti and Ward One free Black population, households, and petition signers. There was likely a greater population living in alleyways as a way to avoid too much attention.

[3]

In Alexandria, the tenuous position of freemen was stretched thin. In response to fears and to assert their fealty as citizens, 46 men signed a petition of loyalty. They had worked hard at becoming a part of the city and upright citizens. They believed in doing the best within their circumstances and that they were indeed Alexandrians, too. Of the 46 signers, 43 lived in Alexandria city. Five of those lived in Hayti proper: Lewis Campbell, Luke Lee, Dennis Hackett, Philip Hamilton, and William Roberts. While two lived just outside of it but still in Ward One: Francis Hoy and William Dudley. [4] (Please see annotated map below.)

[1] “Nat Turner’s Revolt (1831),” Encyclopedia Virginia (blog), accessed November 20, 2022, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/turners-revolt-nat-1831/.

[2] Archaeology After Dark: Nat Turner and the 46 Petitioners, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEKdbsos_dw.

[3] The 46 Petitioners: Social Justice in the Age of Nat Turner in the City of Alexandria, Virginia. Garrett R Fesler. 2021 ( tDAR id: 459226)

[4] Ibid.