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Harriet Tubman

1820-1913

Harriet TubmanHarriet  was born into a slave family in Maryland in 1820. After she escaped to the North, she was determined to help her family and others flee slavery. As the best known conductor of the Underground Railroad, Tubman made 19 trips to the South between 1850 and 1860 leading around 300 people to freedom. They traveled along the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses where runaway slaves could stay on their journey north to freedom.   Her courageous exploits earned her the nickname "Moses of her people".

During the Civil War, she continued to work freeing slaves, and also aided the Union as a nurse, a spy with the federal forces in South Carolina, and a military leader. After the war, she remained active for such causes as equality in education, women's suffrage, and care of the sick and elderly.

Harriet Tubman's name at birth was Araminta Ross. She was one of 11 children of Harriet and Benjamin Ross born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland.  Her parents were from the Ashanti tribe of West Africa, and they worked as slaves on the Brodas plantation. In addition to producing lumber, Edward Brodas raised slaves to rent and sell. Life was difficult on the plantation, and Harriet was hired out as a laborer by the age of 5. As a child, Ross was "hired out" by her master as a nursemaid for a small baby, much like the nursemaid in the picture. Ross had to stay awake all night so that the baby wouldn't cry and wake the mother. If Ross fell asleep, the baby's mother whipped her. From a very young age, Ross was determined to gain her freedom.

Harriet did not like to work indoors, and she was routinely beaten by her masters. By her early teens, Harriet was no longer allowed to work indoors and was hired out as a field hand. She was a hard worker but considered defiant and rebellious. When she was 15 years old, Harriet tried to help a runaway slave. The overseer hit her in the head with a lead weight, which put Harriet in a coma. It took months for her to recover, and for the rest of her life, Harriet suffered from  from seizures for the rest of her life.

In 1844, Ross married a free black named John Tubman and took his last name. She also changed her first name, taking her mother's name, Harriet.  Harriet remained a slave, but she was able to stay in Tubman's cabin at night. Although she was married, Harriet lived in fear of being shipped to the deep South, a virtual death sentence for any slave. In 1849, her fears were realized when the owner of the Brodas plantation died and many of the slaves were scheduled to be sold. After hearing of her fate, Harriet planned to escape that very night. She knew her husband would expose her, so the only person she informed was her sister.

Tubman was given a piece of paper by a white neighbor with two names, and told how to find the first house on her path to freedom. At the first house she was put into a wagon, covered with a sack, and driven to her next destination. She set out with her two brothers,  but her brothers became frightened and turned back, but she continued on and reached Philadelphia. She had to hike through swamps and woodland Following the route to Pennsylvania, she initially settled in Philadelphia, 90 miles from home, where she met William Still, the Philadelphia Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. With the assistance of Still, and other members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, she learned about the workings of the UGRR.    

 Harriet's trip was successful, and she settled in Philadelphia. She worked as a dishwasher and made plans to rescue her family. The next year, Harriet traveled back to Maryland and rescued her sister's family. She then returned to transport her brothers to the North. She went back for her husband, but he had remarried and did not want to follow her. In 1857, Harriet finally returned for her parents and settled them in Auburn, New York.

By this time, Harriet was becoming quite well known and huge rewards were offered for her capture. Harriet was the master of disguise A former master did not even recognize her when they ran into each other on the street.  With the arrival of the Civil War, Harriet became a spy for the Union army. She later worked in Washington DC as a government nurse.

. Her experience leading slaves along the Underground Railroad was especially helpful because she knew the land well. She recruited a group of former slaves to hunt for rebel camps and report on the movement of the Confederate troops. In 1863, she went with Colonel James Montgomery and about 150 black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina. Because she had inside information from her scouts, the Union gunboats were able to surprise the Confederate rebels.

At first when the Union Army came through and burned plantations, slaves hid in the woods. But when they realized that the gunboats could take them behind Union lines to freedom, they came running from all directions, bringing as many of their belongings as they could carry.

Tubman worked as a nurse during the war, trying to heal the sick. Many people in the hospital died from dysentery, a disease associated with terrible diarrhea. Tubman was sure she could help cure the sickness if she could find some of the same roots and herbs that grew in Maryland. One night she searched the woods until she found water lilies and crane's bill (geranium). She boiled the water lily roots and the herbs and made a bitter-tasting brew that she gave to a man who was dying-and it worked! Slowly he recovered. Tubman saved many people in her lifetime.

Although Harriet won admiration from the military, she did not receive a government pension for more than 30 years. At the end of the war, Harriet returned to her parents in Auburn. She was extremely poor and the profits of a book by Sarah Bradford entitled Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, published in 1869 were a financial great help.

In 1870, Harriet married Nelson Davis, who she had met at a South Carolina army base. They were happily married for 18 years until Davis' death. In 1896, Harriet purchased land to build a home for sick and needy blacks. However, she was unable to raise enough money to build the house and ultimately gave the land to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The church completed the home in 1908, and Harriet moved there several years later. She spent her last years in the home telling stories of her life to visitors. On March 10, 1913, Harriet died of pneumonia. She was 93 years old. On her grave her tombstone reads "Servant of God, Well Done."

Harriet Tubman was not afraid to fight for the rights of African-Americans. Her story is one of dedication and inspiration. During her lifetime Harriet was honored by many people. In 1897, her bravery even inspired Queen Victoria to award her a silver medal.  

 
Page last updated:11/13/2004