In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner, and Turner later recalled that he was "a kind master" who had "placed the greatest confidence in" him. Turner eagerly anticipated God's signal to "slay my enemies with their own weapons". He witnessed a solar eclipse on February 12, 1831 and was convinced that it was the sign for which he was waiting, so he started preparations for an uprising against the enslavers in Southampton County by purchasing muskets. Turner said, "I communicated the great work laid out to do, to four in whom I had the greatest confidence," his fellow enslaved men, Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam.