Spring 2023

Cailyn Maiolo

My name is Cailyn Maiolo, and I am a student at the University of New Haven currently studying Forensic Science with a concentration in Molecular Biology. Throughout our English course, the class has read and analyzed The Confessions of Nat Turner and other versions for further research. Although I prefer to study science and math, after reading the Confessions I was confused and unsure of what he was trying to portray. I had no clue what the Confessions were about and what Nat Turner was expressing through his words. This swayed me into researching more into the meaning behind his complex thoughts and the behaviors he displayed through writing. I found that he focused strongly on religious visions and the signs he observed throughout his life. After doing research on his childhood and more in-depth details of his background, I found that he was heavily influenced by God and the Holy Spirit. I wanted to help future students be able to break down some of his more complex sentences to make the process of reading the Confessions easier. In doing so, my goal throughout The Confessions of Nat Turner was to paraphrase sections of the Confessions. This will help future students be able to break down sections and have a better idea of what they are reading for the first time.

Fall 2021

Sophie Eskenas
My name is Sophie Eskenas, and I am a student studying Forensic Chemistry at the University of New Haven, class of 2024. Throughout the course of the Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing, I studied several different adaptations about the Nat Turner rebellion. The research process led me to articles written by scholars and other authors interpreting The Confessions of Nat Turner and what they believe truly motivated an enslaved man to kill numerous white men, women, and children. Turner argued that religion was his main motivation, but others beg to differ. Joseph Drexler-Dreis, a scholar of black religion and culture, wrote an article that was published in the journal “Black Theology.” Drexler-Dreis is able to provide interpretations from someone who has expertise when referring to the religion of black individuals as he is educated on the religious practices of black communities. Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an American scholar who wrote an article in 1861 regarding Nat Turner’s actions. His interpretations are valuable because he was alive during the era that the rebellion occurred and wrote about the events soon after they occurred. Finally, Heather E. Lacey was a college graduate concentrating in history who wrote an article interpreting Nat Turner’s actions that became part of the “Inquiries Journal.” Her interpretations of the Nat Turner rebellion are relevant because they provide a view from someone who is not considered a professional scholar. Each author had their own views about what motivated Nat Turner’s rebellion, whether it be religion, mental illness, or rage. This led to my own opinions on why Nat Turner followed through with the actions he did. My goal in synthesizing the work of these scholars is to help future readers of this edition to understand that they can create their own interpretations regarding Nat Turner and what they believe motivated his violent rebellion.

Alexandra Iozzo
My name is Alexandra Iozzo, and I am a Mechanical Engineering major at the University of New Haven, class of 2025. Over the semester, I have looked at many adapted versions of the Nat Turner Rebellion, and information about the trial always stood out to me. I am very much a history buff and enjoy learning about the legal side of incidents like the Nat Turner Rebellion. I decided to make annotations on the trial section of The Confessions of Nat Turner by Thomas R. Gray because when I read it, I had a lot of unanswered questions about the specifics of the trial and how trials worked back in the nineteenth century. I would have liked to have resources when reading the book that explained the hearing more in-depth. Through my research, I found digitized images of the Court Minutes from the trial, which is essentially a recount of the whole trial, with witness testimony and information about the defendant and prosecution that isn’t well-known. Most of my annotations give more in-depth insight into the ideas already presented about the trial, like the witnesses who testified. I found it helpful in my research to see what they exactly said during the trial, so I could make more sense of the verdict. Not only that, but my research had led to me doubting the credibility of The Confessions of Nat Turner because some of the information Thomas Gray presents doesn’t match what was said in the primary court minutes. There is also a scholar named David F. Allmendinger, who wrote multiple pieces on the credibility of Thomas Gray’s account of the Nat Turner trial. He gave more insight into the history of Mr. Gray and everyone involved in the trial in his article called “The Construction of The Confessions of Nat Turner”. This article caused me to question the validity of the pamphlet as a primary source; some information in the book clashed with the material presented in the article and the court minutes. I would recommend using the court minutes as a primary source before using The Confessions of Nat Turner. The court minutes, since they are government documents seem to be more reliable. Also, it was especially helpful to read these secondary sources after reading the primary sources because I got more of the overarching picture with the secondary sources than I would have with just looking at the primary sources. The primary sources allowed me to dig deeper into the law part of the rebellion; the secondary sources allowed me to look more into the days leading up to the trial and what happened after the case closed. I hope these annotations help answer future readers’ questions when reading through this section of the book.