The author's introduction consists of an excerpt from an historical document, "The Confessions of Nat Turner," written by T.R. Gray in November of 1831, shortly after the capture of Nathaniel Turner. In the introduction to this document, titled "To the Public," Gray briefly summarizes the capture of Nat Turner on October 30, 1831, after the "band of savages" which he led had already been caught and dealt with by Southern justice. Gray refers to Nat Turner as a "gloomy fanatic" (pg. xiv) and does his best to reassure the slave-owning populace of Virginia that Turner's slave rebellion was an isolated incident, not likely to be repeated. Gray states that his reason for publishing Turner's confession was to educate the public "as to the operations of a mind like his, endeavoring to grapple with things.....
