The local militia mustered at St. Luke's Church on August 22, 1831, after news of Nat Turner's uprising spread throughout Southampton County. Governor John Floyd, a War of 1812 veteran who held a militia commission as brigadier general, ordered six armed militia companies, artillery, and cavalry from Richmond, Petersburg, and Norfolk to Southampton County to put down the rebellion, and he also mobilized militia regiments in Southampton and Sussex counties. North Carolina sent troops as well, and the militia was under the overall command of Brigadier General Richard Eppes. When the mayor of Norfolk learned of the insurrection, he mustered the city's militia and sent an urgent plea for federal assistance. By the time federal troops arrived, the rebellion was over, but they were able to stem violent militia reprisals against many innocent Blacks. Although the governor wished to rely on the militia rather than federal forces, the rapid response showed that the long-held fear of a slave revolt had become a reality, and every available resource was used to defeat Nat Turner and his followers. From Hampton Roads, Fort Monroe's commander, Col. James House, dispatched Lt. Col. William J. Worth with three companies of men to quell the rebellion, while Commodore Lewis Warrington, commandant of the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, dispatched sailors and marines from USS Natchez and USS Warren, led by Commodore Stephen Elliot. The steamer Hampton transported these forces to Suffolk, where they marched on to Southampton County and returned to their respective bases after serving six days. The church itself traces its origins to the formation of Nottoway Parish in August 1734. Its first church stood near Flowers Bridge, close to the present Southampton County Courthouse. The Episcopal congregation of Jerusalem purchased the three-acre tract in 1873 to build a new church and provide a cemetery. The town of Courtland purchased the cemetery property in 1903, and the money received was used to erect the present Gothic-style church in 1906.