One of the more unusual things about his was that he learned to read at the age of six.  He started working at seven and at 12 he worked full time.  Full time, for a slave, was six and one half days a week.  After starting to work full time and becoming more and more bitter to slavery each day, he promptly ran away.  All of the people chasing him he eluded and after about a month his fellow slaves back on the turner plantation knew he made it.  Then to everyone's shock he turned himself in the next day.  All of the other slaves were shocked at this but he said he wanted freedom for more them just himself.  He went unpunished.  That is when he started planning the insurrection.  

After that a depression came over Virginia and the value of crops dropped  by more than one hundred percent.  He was separated from his wife and children and sold to another plantation.  Turners wife and children were right next door though and he visited them as soon as possible.  He looked to preaching because he was able to read and it would give him a chance to move around and plan the revolt with all slaves nearby.  

Ten years later after he knew the city by heart for a ten mile radius he set up a time for the rebellion with the four men he knew he could trust.  His second in command was named hark and he was a huge strong fighter.  Then came Nelson Williams who lived five miles south of Jerusalem the main city near the plantation Turner lived on, it is said he also had special privileges like Turner.  Henry potter and Sam Francis both were ordinary slaves but Turner trusted them.  They planned the insurrection to start on July 4, 1831.  As the day grew near Turner became ill and the revolt was put off.   Then they met again and set the rebellion date to August 22, 1831.  On August 13th they met in a swampy spot no one lived on to start the insurrection.  The first house that they were going to attack was the Travis house.  They were quickly joined by two other slaves.  Hark wanted to knock down the door but Turner thought that might alert the nearest neighbor one half a mile away.

After that house was taken and slaves had a chance to join the rebellion they started moving toward the city of Jerusalem.  They killed any whites they saw and slaves kept joining the rebellion.  When they reached the main rode they saw militia set up there, the word had gotten out.  They couldn't take that division so they headed to a rode not well know.  Turner thought taking the town of Jerusalem was vital to his success.  There were militia there too.

They came in counter with a patrolling militia.  The white men had never seen armed slaves and when Turners men charged them they didn't know what to do.  Then just by chance another division was passing.  Turners army didn't really stand a chance then.  They fell back due to bad casualties and headed for a plantation with 145 slaves because they were down to 30 men.

The militia was already there.  They then went to an abandoned looking plantation with 60 slaves.  Hark went in first and fire his gun in the air to no response.  After that they were ambushed by some militia and black slaves fighting with their masters.  They retreated into the swamp where Turner had started the rebellion.  The whites followed and Turner was one of the only blacks to escape.  He went back to his plantation thinking they would never look there and went into hiding underground in an open field.  

There was now a 1,100 dollar reward for turner turned in.   It was impossible for him to hide forever so he was finally caught by a poor white man with no slaves.

  His entire story was taken down by a reporter while he was held trial.   When he was found guilty and hanged.  

Afterwards many slaves were killed in pure rage from their masters.  His revolt lead to the death of 60 whites and over 100 blacks.  The revolt left Virginia a shocked state but the revolt showed other slaves they could fight back.