Over a hundred arrests were made, including four whites who had encouraged the project, and several of the leaders, including Vesey, were executed.
The bloodiest insurrection of all, in which some sixty whites were murdered, occurred in Southampton County, Virginia, in August, 1831.

Nat Turner, its leader, besides being a skilled carpenter, was a literate, mystical preacher.

He had discovered particular relevance in the prophets of the Old Testament.

Besides identifying with the slave experience of the Israelites, Turner and other slaves felt that the social righteousness which the prophets preached related directly to their situation.

The picture of the Lord exercising vengeance against the oppressors gave them hope and inspiration.