things. Of the probable thousands who were engaged in the Denmark
Vesey insurrection, only fifteen were convicted, and these died
heroically without revealing anything connected with the plot.
Forty-three years later I met the son of Denmark Vesey, who rejoiced
in the efforts of his noble father, and regarded his death on the
gallows as a holy sacrifice to the cause of freedom. Turner describes
his fight as follows: "The white men, eighteen in number, approached
us to about one hundred yards, when one of them fired, and I
discovered about half of them retreating. I then ordered my men to
fire and rush on them. The few remaining stood their ground until we
approached within fifty yards, when they fired and retreated. We
pursued and overtook some of them whom we thought we left dead. After
pursuing them about two hundred yards, and rising a little hill, I
discovered they were met by another party, and had halted and were
reloading their guns. Thinking that those who retreated first and the
party who fired on us at fifty or sixty yards distant had all only
fallen back to meet others with ammunition, as I saw them reloading
their guns, and more coming up than I saw at first, and several of my
bravest men being wounded, the others became panic struck and
scattered over the field. The white men pursued and fired on us
several times. Hark had his horse shot under him, and I caught another
for him that was running by me; five or six of my men were wounded,
but none left on the field. Finding myself defeated here, I instantly
determined to go through a private way and cross the Nottoway River at
Cypress Bridge, three miles below Jerusalem, and attack that place in
the rear, as I expected they would look for me on the other road, and
I had a great desire to get there to procure arms and ammunition.
After going a short distance in this private way, accompanied by about
twenty men, I overtook two or three who told me the others were
dispersed in every direction. After trying in vain to collect a