Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born around 1820 in Maryland. When she was five years old, she cleaned white people's houses during the day, and tended to babies at night. Harriet hated being a slave, and one day decided to escape. She is known in American popular culture, and among school children as an important part of history.

Harriet Tubman escaped to Philadelphia by hiding under a sack in a wagon. She thought about escape, and dreamed repeatedly of crossing the line that seperated freedom from slavery, life from living death. To escape, she dressed as a man, and also as an old woman. She slept close to the fire on cold nights, and stuck her toes in the smoldering ashes to avoid frostbite. She found her freedom in Philadelphia. Once free, Harriet decided to help others escape by joining the Underground Railroad. She met up with William Sill, an Underground Railroad Stationmaster whom she met while escaping, and began her work as a conductor.

Tubman as a conductor in the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman returned to the South nineteen times to lead escaped slaves to the North. She rescued over 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad. She made eleven trips from Maryland to Canada, from 1852-1857. She made a second trip to rescue her brother James and other slaves. She showed courage and shrewdness as she rescued people from slavery. There was no one else like Harriet Tubman.

Harriet stopped making trips to the South in 1860. When the Civil War began, she played a crucial role in a Union raid in South Carolina, one that liberated more than 700 slaves. She put together a group of spies who kept Montgomery informed about slaves who might want to join the Union Army. She served as a soldier, spy, and even a nurse for at Fortress Monroe.

Tubman postage stamp

Harriet built a wooden sturcture that served as a home for the aged. She helped her hometown remain a center of activity for the support of women's rights. She suffered narcolepsy as a result of the head injury she sustained as a child. She was honored by the federal government with a postage stamp bearing her name and likeness. She would never enjoy a day for herself alone, but wanted the best for hummanity, and recived long overdue honors, awards, and recognition for her heroic struggle from enslavement to freedom. Harriet Tubman was buried in Fort Hill Cemtery in Aulburn, with military honors.