Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman
source
Name	Harriet Tubman
Caption	Photograph of Harriet Tubman, c. 1885
Birth name	Araminta Ross
Birth date	c. March 1822
Birth place	Dorchester County, Maryland
Death date	March 10, 1913
Death place	Auburn, New York
Occupation	Abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor, Union Army scout, spy, nurse, suffragist
Spouse	John Tubman (m. 1844; div. 1851), Nelson Davis (m. 1869; died 1888)
Parents	Harriet "Rit" Greene, Ben Ross

Harriet Tubman was an iconic African American abolitionist and humanitarian who escaped slavery to become a leading conductor on the Underground Railroad. She guided dozens of enslaved people to freedom in the North and Canada before serving as a scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Later in life, she was an active participant in the women's suffrage movement and established a home for the aged in Auburn, New York.

Early life and family

Born Araminta Ross around March 1822 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, she was the child of Harriet "Rit" Greene and Ben Ross, both enslaved. As a young girl, she was hired out to work for other families, performing arduous tasks and suffering brutal physical abuse. A severe head injury inflicted by an overseer when she was an adolescent resulted in lifelong episodes of narcolepsy and vivid religious visions, which she interpreted as divine guidance. Around 1844, she married a free Black man named John Tubman, taking his surname and changing her first name to Harriet, possibly in honor of her mother. Her marriage highlighted the precarious nature of family under slavery, as any children she might have had would have been considered the property of her enslaver, Edward Brodess.

Escape from slavery and activism

Following the death of Edward Brodess in 1849 and fearing she would be sold, she fled north to Philadelphia, using the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She famously returned to Maryland approximately 13 times over the next decade, personally guiding around 70 family members and other enslaved individuals, including her aging parents, to freedom. Her extraordinary success earned her the biblical epithet "Moses" and a bounty on her head from frustrated slaveholders in the South. She worked closely with other prominent abolitionists like William Still in Philadelphia and Thomas Garrett in Wilmington, Delaware, and later used her home in St. Catharines, Ontario, as a terminus for those fleeing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. During this period, she also became associated with John Brown, whom she aided in recruiting supporters for his raid on Harpers Ferry.

Civil War service

When the American Civil War began, she served the Union Army with distinction. Initially working as a cook and nurse at camps such as Port Royal, she later became an armed scout and spy for the Department of the South. In 1863, she guided the Combahee River Raid, a military expedition that resulted in the liberation of more than 700 enslaved people from plantations along the Combahee River in South Carolina. This mission, conducted under the authority of Colonel James Montgomery, marked the first time a woman led a major armed expedition in the war. Despite her critical service, she faced significant discrimination and struggled for decades to receive a pension from the United States Congress.

Later life and legacy

After the war, she returned to Auburn, New York, where she had settled her parents years earlier. She married a former enslaved man and Union Army veteran, Nelson Davis, in 1869. She devoted her later years to philanthropic causes, including the women's suffrage movement, collaborating with figures like Susan B. Anthony and Emily Howland. In 1908, she established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged on land adjacent to her property. She died of pneumonia on March 10, 1913, and was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn. Her legacy has been honored with numerous designations, including the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland and her selection to appear on the U.S. twenty-dollar bill.

In popular culture

Her life has been the subject of numerous artistic and cultural works. She has been portrayed in television series and films by actresses such as Cicely Tyson and Cynthia Erivo. The 2019 film Harriet brought her story to a wide modern audience. Her image and story are frequently referenced in literature, music, and public art, including statues in Boston and New York City. Educational institutions like the Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C., bear her name, ensuring her story continues to inspire new generations.

Category:1822 births Category:1913 deaths Category:American abolitionists Category:Underground Railroad people Category:Union spies