biography of harriet tubman

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Harriet Tubman

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 20, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War, all while carrying a bounty on her head. But she was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women’s suffrage supporter. Tubman is one of the most recognized icons in American history and her legacy has inspired countless people from every race and background.

When Was Harriet Tubman Born?

Harriet Tubman was born around 1820 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Her parents, Harriet (“Rit”) Green and Benjamin Ross, named her Araminta Ross and called her “Minty.”

Rit worked as a cook in the plantation’s “big house,” and Benjamin was a timber worker. Araminta later changed her first name to Harriet in honor of her mother.

Harriet had eight brothers and sisters, but the realities of slavery eventually forced many of them apart, despite Rit’s attempts to keep the family together. When Harriet was five years old, she was rented out as a nursemaid where she was whipped when the baby cried, leaving her with permanent emotional and physical scars.

Around age seven Harriet was rented out to a planter to set muskrat traps and was later rented out as a field hand. She later said she preferred physical plantation work to indoor domestic chores.

A Good Deed Gone Bad

Harriet’s desire for justice became apparent at age 12 when she spotted an overseer about to throw a heavy weight at a fugitive. Harriet stepped between the enslaved person and the overseer—the weight struck her head.

She later said about the incident, “The weight broke my skull … They carried me to the house all bleeding and fainting. I had no bed, no place to lie down on at all, and they laid me on the seat of the loom, and I stayed there all day and the next.”

Harriet’s good deed left her with headaches and narcolepsy the rest of her life, causing her to fall into a deep sleep at random. She also started having vivid dreams and hallucinations which she often claimed were religious visions (she was a staunch Christian). Her infirmity made her unattractive to potential slave buyers and renters.

Escape from Slavery

In 1840, Harriet’s father was set free and Harriet learned that Rit’s owner’s last will had set Rit and her children, including Harriet, free. But Rit’s new owner refused to recognize the will and kept Rit, Harriet and the rest of her children in bondage.

Around 1844, Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man, and changed her last name from Ross to Tubman. The marriage was not good, and the knowledge that two of her brothers—Ben and Henry—were about to be sold provoked Harriet to plan an escape.

Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad

On September 17, 1849, Harriet, Ben and Henry escaped their Maryland plantation. The brothers, however, changed their minds and went back. With the help of the Underground Railroad , Harriet persevered and traveled 90 miles north to Pennsylvania and freedom.

Tubman found work as a housekeeper in Philadelphia, but she wasn’t satisfied living free on her own—she wanted freedom for her loved ones and friends, too.

She soon returned to the south to lead her niece and her niece’s children to Philadelphia via the Underground Railroad. At one point, she tried to bring her husband John north, but he’d remarried and chose to stay in Maryland with his new wife.

Fugitive Slave Act

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act allowed fugitive and freed workers in the north to be captured and enslaved. This made Harriet’s role as an Underground Railroad conductor much harder and forced her to lead enslaved people further north to Canada, traveling at night, usually in the spring or fall when the days were shorter.

She carried a gun for both her own protection and to “encourage” her charges who might be having second thoughts. She often drugged babies and young children to prevent slave catchers from hearing their cries.

Over the next 10 years, Harriet befriended other abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass , Thomas Garrett and Martha Coffin Wright, and established her own Underground Railroad network. It’s widely reported she emancipated 300 enslaved people; however, those numbers may have been estimated and exaggerated by her biographer Sarah Bradford, since Harriet herself claimed the numbers were much lower.

Nevertheless, it’s believed Harriet personally led at least 70 enslaved people to freedom, including her elderly parents, and instructed dozens of others on how to escape on their own. She claimed, “I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”

Harriet Tubman's Civil War Service

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Harriet found new ways to fight slavery. She was recruited to assist fugitive enslaved people at Fort Monroe and worked as a nurse, cook and laundress. Harriet used her knowledge of herbal medicines to help treat sick soldiers and fugitive enslaved people.

In 1863, Harriet became head of an espionage and scout network for the Union Army. She provided crucial intelligence to Union commanders about Confederate Army supply routes and troops and helped liberate enslaved people to form Black Union regiments.

Though just over five feet tall, she was a force to be reckoned with, although it took over three decades for the government to recognize her military contributions and award her financially.

Harriet Tubman’s Later Years

After the Civil War, Harriet settled with family and friends on land she owned in Auburn, New York . She married former enslaved man and Civil War veteran Nelson Davis in 1869 (her husband John had died 1867) and they adopted a little girl named Gertie a few years later.

Harriet had an open-door policy for anyone in need. She supported her philanthropy efforts by selling her home-grown produce, raising pigs and accepting donations and loans from friends. She remained illiterate yet toured parts of the northeast speaking on behalf of the women’s suffrage movement and worked with noted suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony .

In 1896, Harriet purchased land adjacent to her home and opened the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Colored People. The head injury she suffered in her youth continued to plague her and she endured brain surgery to help relieve her symptoms. But her health continued to deteriorate and eventually forced her to move into her namesake rest home in 1911.

Pneumonia took Harriet Tubman’s life on March 10, 1913, but her legacy lives on. Schools and museums bear her name and her story has been revisited in books, movies and documentaries.

Harriet Tubman: $20 Bill

Tubman even had a World War II Liberty ship named after her, the SS Harriet Tubman.

In 2016, the United States Treasury announced that Harriet’s image will replace that of former President and slaveowner Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (who served under President Trump) later announced the new bill would be delayed until at least 2026. In January 2021, President Biden's administration announced it would speed up the design process to mint the bills honoring Tubman's legacy.

HISTORY Vault: Black History

Watch acclaimed Black History documentaries on HISTORY Vault.

Early Life. Harriet Tubman Historical Society.

General Tubman: Female Abolitionist was Also a Secret Military Weapon. Military Times.

Harriet Tubman Biography. Biography.

Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Residence, and Thompson AME Zion Church. National Park Service.

Harriet Tubman Myths and Facts. Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman Portrait of An American Hero by Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D.

Harriet Tubman. National Park Service .

Harriet Tubman. National Women’s History Museum.

Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People. Harriet Tubman Historical Society.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad. National Park Service.

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Harriet Tubman

"I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." - Harriet Tubman

Perhaps one of the best known personalities of the Civil War, Harriet Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, sometime in 1820 or 1821. As a child, Tubman was “hired out” to various masters who proved to be particularly cruel and abusive to her. As a result of a head injury caused by one of these men, she suffered from seizures and “visions” for the rest of her life, which she believed were sent from God.

In 1840, Tubman’s father was freed as a result of a stipulation in his master’s will, but continued to work for his former owner’s family. Although Tubman, her mother, and her siblings were also supposed to be freed, the law was ignored and they remained enslaved. Tubman married a free black in 1844, and changed her first name from Araminta to Harriet.

In 1849, Tubman became seriously ill with complications from her head injury, and her owner decided to sell her, but could not find a buyer. After her owner’s sudden death, the family began selling off all of the slaves. Not wanting to have her family separated, Tubman was determined to escape. A first attempt, in which Tubman was accompanied by her brothers, was aborted when they had second thoughts. Tubman decided to try again on her own, and she escaped via the Underground Railroad into Pennsylvania.

Tubman settled in Philadelphia and was able to support herself doing odd jobs. But in 1850, word came that her niece and her two children were to be sold. Tubman was determined to help, and went back to Maryland. With the assistance of her brother-in-law, Tubman was able to bring her niece and the two children back safely to Philadelphia. This was the first of many trips that Tubman would make to lead family members and others to freedom. On one expedition, Tubman contacted her husband in the hopes that he would follow her to Pennsylvania, but he had remarried and preferred to remain in Maryland.

Over the course of 11 years, Tubman rescued over 70 slaves from Maryland, and assisted 50 or 60 others in making their way to Canada. During this time, her reputation in the abolitionist community grew, and she became acquainted with Frederick Douglass and John Brown . She also moved her base of operations to Auburn, New York, closer to the Canadian border. Tubman conducted her last rescue mission in November 1861, as the Civil War enveloped the nation.

Tubman offered her services to the Union Army, and in early 1862, she went to South Carolina to provide badly needed nursing care for black soldiers and newly liberated slaves. Working with General David Hunter, Tubman also began spying and scouting missions behind Confederate lines. In June of 1863, she accompanied Colonel James Montgomery in an assault on several plantations along the Combahee River, rescuing more than 700 slaves. Her deed was celebrated in the press and she became even more famous.

With the end of the war, Tubman returned to Auburn, NY and married a Civil War veteran. Although her service in the Union Army was much publicized, she had great difficulty in getting a pension from the government, but was eventually awarded a nurse’s pension in the 1880s. She did not stay idle in her later years, taking on the cause of women’s suffrage with the same determination she had shown for abolition.

Tubman established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged on a property adjacent to her own. After undergoing brain surgery to try to alleviate the symptoms from the head injury that had plagued her since childhood, and being essentially penniless, Tubman was forced to move into the home herself in 1911. She died there on March 10, 1913, surrounded by family and friends. She was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."  ~Harriet  Tubman

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Jane Franklin Mecom

Sarah Moore Grimké

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Harriet Tubman's Service as a Union Spy

She had a particular set of skills

In her years of guiding people away from slavery on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman had to arrange clandestine meetings, scout routes without drawing attention to herself and think on her feet. And though she was illiterate, she'd learned to keep track of complex amounts of information. These were all skills that any aspiring spy would do well to acquire.

Tubman had a difficult start

In the spring of 1862, Tubman traveled to a Union camp in South Carolina. She was ostensibly there to assist formerly enslaved people who'd taken refuge with Union troops, but her Underground Railroad work made it likely she also intended to serve as a spy.

Unfortunately, Tubman wasn't able to immediately start gathering intelligence. One problem was that, being from Maryland, she had no local knowledge to draw on. And the liberated people from the area mostly spoke Gullah (a patois combining English and African languages), which made communication difficult. Harriet would later remark, "They laughed when they heard me talk, and I could not understand them, no how."

She assembled a spy ring

Tubman took steps to bridge the distance between herself and the newly freed locals. Because they resented the fact that she received army rations while they had no such support, she gave hers up. To make ends meet, she made pies and root beer to sell to soldiers, and operated a washing house; she hired some formerly enslaved people to help her do laundry and distribute her wares.

Tubman ended up assembling a group of trusted scouts to map territory and waterways; she also did some scouting herself. Having received $100 in Secret Service funds in January 1863, Tubman was also able to pay those who offered useful information, such as the location of Confederate troops or ordnance.

Tubman's information helped keep Black troops unharmed

In June 1863, Union boats carrying Black troops journeyed on the Combahee River into Confederate territory. The usefulness of Tubman’s information was demonstrated when the ships proceeded unharmed because they knew where Confederate mines had been submerged. Tubman oversaw the expedition alongside a colonel she trusted, making her the first and only woman to organize and lead a military operation during the Civil War.

During the raid, Union soldiers gathered supplies and destroyed Confederate property. In addition, Tubman had told local enslaved people that these Union boats could carry them to freedom. When signaled, hundreds came rushing to be rescued; more than 700 people would be freed (approximately 100 would go on to enlist in the Union army).

She was a successful spy

The Combahee Raid overwhelmed the Confederates thanks in large part to Tubman’s espionage work, as one of their reports would concede: "The enemy seems to have been well posted as to the character and capacity of our troops and their small chance of encountering opposition, and to have been well guided by persons thoroughly acquainted with the river and country."

A Wisconsin paper wrote about the success of the expedition, noting that a Black woman had overseen the operation, but didn’t name Tubman. In July 1863, a Boston anti-slavery publication did credit Tubman by name.

She continued her services

Tubman went on other expeditions, though few details are known about these, and continued to gather information for the Union. In 1864, a soldier noted that one general was reluctant to let Tubman leave South Carolina because he felt "her services are too valuable to lose," as she was "able to get more intelligence than anybody else" from newly liberated people.

Tubman was fully paid

Tubman was only paid $200 during the war. She did get a small pension because her husband had been a Civil War veteran; this was later supplemented due to her service as a nurse during the conflict. However, she was never paid all the benefits she was owed.

It wasn't until 2003, after students told then New York Senator Hillary Clinton about Tubman's missing remuneration, that Congress provided $11,750 — the amount Tubman should have been given, adjusted for inflation — to the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York.

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Harriet Tubman

Character, Courage and Commitment

As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman made several trips into slave-holding states, leading dozens of individuals to freedom in the North. During the Civil War, she further risked her life and safety to work first as a nurse and then as a spy for the Union Army. Afterwards, she became an outspoken advocate for African American and women's rights, insisting that all be afforded dignity, treated with respect and granted equality.

Araminta Ross was born in Dorchester County, Maryland in or around 1822 on Anthony Thompson's plantation. Araminta grew up to be known as Harriet Tubman. By 1840, Harriet, her mother and several siblings had been relocated from a plantation in Bucktown back to Thompson's farm.

The young girl would grow up to become one of the most celebrated figures of her time. Her legacy of steadfast courage and commitment to justice would endure more than 100 years after her death.

Today, no trace of Tubman's birthplace remains. Though, a historical marker notes the location.

Cambridge, Maryland. Dorchester County. Site of Harriet Tubman's birth

Tubman worked as a field hand for many years -following the oxen loading and unloading wood and carrying heavy burdens -all along developing great strength and determination.Later, she was hired out to perform housework and child care where the plantation mistress proved capricious and cruel, employing frequent beatings for the most minor of offenses.

The Bucktown Village store still stands in Bucktown, Maryland. It was here that 12-year-old slave Araminta Ross was shopping with the plantation cook when an overseer entered, pursuing an escaped slave. The overseer ordered Araminta to assist with tying the man up, which she refused to do. As the escaping slave bolted for the door, the overseer swept up a two-pound scale weight up from the counter and threw it after him. The weight missed its mark, hitting Araminta instead. The blow knocked her unconscious.

It was not her first experience with the violence of slavery, but it would have the most lasting effect as she suffered from severe headaches for the rest of her life.

Bucktown Village Store historic site, Cambridge, Maryland.

Araminta married a free black named John Tubman in 1844, taking his last name. She changed her first name, adopting her mother's name, becoming Harriet. In 1849, worried that she and the other slaves on the plantation where she lived were going to be sold, Tubman decided to run away. Her husband refused to go with her, so she set out with her two brothers. Her brothers turned back, but Tubman persevered to freedom, settling in Philadelphia.

Tubman could not be happy in freedom knowing that her relatives and friends remained enslaved. She made the dangerous decision to return to Maryland to secure their freedom as well.

Linchester Mill was the hub of Underground Railroad activity in the area. Whites and blacks, free and enslaved, had regular contact here at the general store or the post office. Free and enslaved African Americans worked side-by-side, providing a constant flow of information and support to freedom seekers. Quakers and free blacks who lived near the mill secretly helped fleeing slaves pass through the area.

The mill dam created a spot to cross Hunting Creek. Such crossing points helped freedom seekers avoid unwanted attention.

Linchester Mill historic site, Preston, Maryland.

Harriet Tubman’s parents were active in the Underground Railroad, and she most likely made her first escape from their home near Choptank Landing.

On Christmas Day 1854, Tubman led her three brothers to freedom from nearby Poplar Neck. Robert, Ben and Henry, as well as several others, hid in a corn crib until dark, when they could begin their journey north.

At nightfall, Harriet safely led them on their journey towards freedom, traveling through Delaware, Pennsylvania, and across upstate New York to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Choptank River, Preston, Maryland, near site of Tubman's parents' home.

The forests, marshes, and waterways that characterized Tubman's home territory are largely unchanged from the time that she made her home in Dorchester County.

Knowledge of the terrain was vital to survival while hiding and trying to flee. Tubman and others had to successfully navigate the land and waterways, trap and forage for food, and hide from their pursuers. Understanding the tides, knowing how to find food and fresh water, and following the North Star were all skills that later proved vital as she guided her charges north along the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Cambridge, Maryland

As part of the Underground Railroad network, Tubman successfully employed a variety of escape and evasion methods to help aid fleeing slaves. Disguise was a favorite. If it was announced that a group of male slaves had bolted from a plantation, she dressed the fugitives as women for the trip north.

On another occasion, Tubman came dangerously close to being identified during a stopover at a train depot. To confuse her pursuers, she quickly purchased a ticket for the southbound train, correctly believing, that as it turned out, few would expect an “outlaw” of her notoriety to venture further into Dixie in such a public manner. For one of her more brazen missions, she convinced a light-skinned fugitive to pose as a white master transporting a group of slaves to a town further up the road.

For all the recriminations directed at her by displeased plantation owners throughout the South, Tubman was never caught and never lost a “passenger.”

Moving “passengers” along the Underground Railroad, Tubman became very familiar with the different towns and transportation routes characterizing the South. This information proved extremely valuable to Federal military commanders after the Civil War began in 1861.

Poorly drawn and outdated maps, coupled with soldiers who had little knowledge of the United States beyond their own village, made individuals like Tubman vitally important to the Union war effort. Utilizing the extensive knowledge of the South she had obtained while working for the Underground Railroad, Tubman was able to provide accurate intelligence data to Northern troops.

Tubman also served as a spy, seeking and delivering intelligence from behind enemy lines. At the war's conclusion, she was granted a military pension of $20 per month, the first African American woman to receive one.

After the war, Tubman retired to a piece of land on the outskirts of Auburn, New York where she lived surrounded by family. She cared for her parents and other relatives, becoming a stalwart of the community. She was famous in her own lifetime for her accomplishments, was sought after as a speaker, and collaborated on a biography of her life story.

Tubman died in 1913 and was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York.

Tubman's legacy lives on in the hearts and spirit of every American. She has been honored with monuments and statues, schools bear her name, and thousands of Americans daily travel along Harriet Tubman roads, streets, and avenues.

Harriet Tubman Elementary School, Washington, DC.

Tubman has been honored on a United States postage stamp.

She has been celebrated as an enduring Civil Rights icon by contemporary artists and activists.

In April 2016, the US Treasury announced that she would become the first American woman pictured on currency in over 100 years.

Soon, Tubman will take her place in history on the new twenty dollar bill.

Biography of Harriet Tubman: Freed Enslaved People, Fought for the Union

Seidman Photo Service / Kean Collection / Getty Images

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Harriet Tubman (c. 1820–March 10, 1913) was an enslaved woman, freedom seeker, Underground Railroad conductor, North American 19th-century Black activist , spy, soldier, and nurse known for her service during the Civil War and her advocacy of civil rights and women's suffrage.

Tubman remains one of history's most inspiring African Americans and there are many children's stories about her, but those usually stress her early life, escape from enslavement, and work with the Underground Railroad. Less known are her Civil War service and her other activities in the nearly 50 years she lived after the war.

Fast Facts: Harriet Tubman

• Known For : Participation in the North American 19-century Black activist movement, Civil War work, civil rights
• Also Known As : Araminta Ross, Araminta Green, Harriet Ross, Harriet Ross Tubman, Moses
• Born : c. 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland
• Parents : Benjamin Ross, Harriet Green
• Died : March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York
• Spouses : John Tubman, Nelson Davis
• Children : Gertie
• Notable Quote : "I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive."

Tubman was enslaved from birth in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1820 or 1821, on the plantation of Edward Brodas or Brodess. Her birth name was Araminta, and she was called Minty until she changed her name to Harriet—after her mother—as an early teen. Her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green were enslaved Africans who saw many of their 11 children sold into the Deep South.

At age 5, Araminta was "rented" to neighbors to do housework. She was never good at household chores and was beaten by her enslavers and "renters." She wasn't educated to read or write. She eventually was assigned to work as a field hand, which she preferred to housework. At age 15, she suffered a head injury when she blocked the path of the overseer pursuing an uncooperative enslaved person. The overseer flung a weight at the other enslaved people, hitting Tubman, who probably sustained a severe concussion. She was ill for a long time and never fully recovered.

In 1844 or 1845, Tubman married John Tubman, a free Black man. Shortly after her marriage, she hired a lawyer to investigate her legal history and discovered that her mother had been freed on a technicality upon the death of a former enslaver The lawyer advised her that a court wouldn't likely hear the case, so she dropped it. But knowing that she should have been born free led her to contemplate freedom and resent her situation.

In 1849, Tubman heard that two of her brothers were about to be sold to the Deep South, and her husband threatened to sell her, too. She tried to persuade her brothers to escape with her but left alone, making her way to Philadelphia and freedom. The next year, Tubman decided to return to Maryland to free her sister and her sister's family. Over the next 12 years, she returned 18 or 19 times, bringing more than 300 people out of enslavement.

Underground Railroad

Tubman's organizing ability was crucial to her work with the Underground Railroad, a network of opponents of enslavement that helped freedom seekers escape. Tubman was only 5 feet tall, but she was smart and strong and carried a rifle. She used it not only to intimidate pro-enslavement people but also to keep enslaved people from backing out. She told any who seemed ready to leave that "dead Negroes tell no tales" about the railroad.

When Tubman first reached Philadelphia, she was, under the law of the time, a free woman, but the passage of the  Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 made her a freedom seeker again. All citizens were obligated to aid in her recapture, so she had to operate quietly. But she soon became known throughout the North American 19th-century Black activist circles and freedmen's communities.

After the Fugitive Slave Act passed, Tubman began guiding her Underground Railroad passengers to Canada, where they could be truly free. From 1851 through 1857, she lived parts of the year in St. Catherines, Canada, and Auburn, New York, where many North American 19th-century Black activists lived.

Other Activities

In addition to her twice-yearly trips to Maryland to help freedom seekers escape, Tubman developed her oratorical skills and began speaking publicly at anti-enslavement meetings and, by the end of the decade, women's rights meetings. A price had been placed on her head—at one time it was as high as $40,000—but she was never betrayed.

Tubman freed three of her brothers in 1854, bringing them to St. Catherines. In 1857, Tubman brought her parents to freedom. They couldn't take Canada's climate, so she settled them on land she bought in Auburn with the aid of North American 19th-century Black activists. Earlier, she had returned to rescue her husband John Tubman, only to find he'd remarried and wasn't interested in leaving.

Tubman earned money as a cook and laundress, but she also received support from public figures in New England, including key North American 19th-century Black activists. She was supported by  Susan B Anthony , William H. Seward, Ralph Waldo Emerson , Horace Mann, the Alcotts, including educator Bronson Alcott and writer  Louisa May Alcott , William Still  of Philadelphia, and Thomas Garratt of Wilmington, Delaware. Some supporters used their homes as Underground Railroad stations.

In 1859, when John Brown was organizing a rebellion he believed would end enslavement, he consulted Tubman. She supported his plans at Harper's Ferry , raised funds in Canada, and recruited soldiers. She intended to help him take the armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia to supply guns to enslaved people they believed would rebel against their captivity. But she became ill and wasn't there.

Brown's raid failed and his supporters were killed or arrested. She mourned her friends' deaths and continued to hold Brown as a hero.

Tubman's trips to the South as "Moses," as she'd become known for leading her people to freedom, ended as the Southern states began to secede and the U.S. government prepared for war. Once war started, Tubman went South to assist with "contrabands," freedom seekers attached to the Union Army. The next year, the Union Army asked Tubman to organize a network of scouts and spies among Black men. She led forays to gather information and persuade enslaved people to leave their enslavers. Many joined regiments of Black soldiers.

In July 1863, Tubman led troops commanded by Col. James Montgomery in the Combahee River expedition, disrupting Southern supply lines by destroying bridges and railroads and freeing more than 750 enslaved people. Gen. Rufus Saxton, who reported the raid to Secretary of War  Edwin Stanton , said: "This is the only military command in American history wherein a woman, Black or White, led the raid and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted." Some believe Tubman was allowed to go beyond women's traditional boundaries because of her race.

Tubman, believing she was employed by the U.S. Army, spent her first paycheck on building a place where freed Black women could earn a living doing laundry for soldiers. But she wasn't paid regularly or given rations she believed she deserved. She received only $200 in three years of service, supporting herself by selling baked goods and root beer, which she made after she completed her regular duties.

After the war, Tubman never got her back military pay. When she applied for a pension—with the support of Secretary of State William Seward, Colonel T. W. Higginson, and Rufus—her application was denied. Despite her service and fame, she had no official documents to prove she had served in the war.

Freedmen Schools

After the war, Tubman established schools for freedmen in South Carolina. She never learned to read and write, but she appreciated the value of education and supported efforts to educate formerly enslaved people.

She later returned to her home in Auburn, New York, which was her base for the rest of her life. She financially supported her parents, and her brothers and their families moved to Auburn. Her first husband died in 1867 in a fight with a White man. In 1869 she married Nelson Davis, who had been enslaved in North Carolina but served as a Union Army soldier. He was often ill, probably with tuberculosis, and frequently couldn't work.

Tubman welcomed several children into her home, raising them as her own, and supported some impoverished formerly enslaved people, financing her efforts through donations and loans. In 1874, she and Davis adopted a baby girl named Gertie.

Publishing and Speaking

To finance her life and her support of others, she worked with historian Sarah Hopkins Bradford to publish "Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman" in 1869. The book was initially financed by North American 19th-century Black activists, including Wendell Phillips and Gerrit Smith, the latter a supporter of John Brown and first cousin of suffragist  Elizabeth Cady Stanton . Tubman toured to speak about her experiences as "Moses."

In 1886, Bradford, with Tubman's help, wrote a full-scale biography of Tubman titled "Harriet Tubman: Moses of Her People." In the 1890s, she finally was able to collect a pension as Davis' widow: $8 a month.

Tubman also worked with Susan B. Anthony on women's suffrage. She attended women's rights conventions and spoke for the women's movement, advocating for the rights of Black women. In 1896, Tubman spoke at the first meeting of the National Association of Colored Women .

Continuing to support aged and poor African Americans, Tubman established a home on 25 acres next to her home in Auburn, raising money with help from the AME Church and a local bank. The home, which opened in 1908, initially was called the John Brown Home for Aged and Indigent Colored People but later was named for her.

She donated the home to the AME Zion Church with the proviso that it would be kept as a home for the elderly. She moved into the home in 1911 and died of pneumonia on March 10, 1913.

Tubman became an icon after her death. A World War II Liberty ship was named for her, and in 1978 she was featured on a commemorative stamp. Her home has been named a national historic landmark.

The four phases of Tubman's life—an enslaved person; a North American 19th-century Black activist and conductor on the Underground Railroad; a Civil War soldier, nurse, spy, and scout; and a social reformer—are important aspects of her dedication to service. Schools and museums bear her name and her history has been told in books, movies, and documentaries.

In April 2016, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced that Tubman would replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill by 2020, but the plans were delayed.

• " Timeline of the Life of Harriet Tubman ." Harriet Tubman Historical Society.
• " Harriet Tubman Biography ." Harriettubmanbiography.com.
• " Harriet Tubman: American Abolitionist ." Encyclopaedia Britannica.
• " Harriet Tubman Biography ." Biography.com.
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• African American History Timeline: 1840 to 1849
• Black American History and Women Timeline: 1800–1859
• Top 9 Events That Led to the Civil War
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• Philosophies of the North American 19-Century Anti-Enslavement Activist Movement
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• American Civil War: Causes of Conflict
• The Christiana Riot
• Biography of Lydia Maria Child, Activist and Author
• African American History Timeline: 1850 to 1859
• 3 Major Ways Enslaved People Showed Resistance to a Life in Bondage

African American Heritage

Harriet Tubman (c. March 1822 - March 10, 1913)

Harriet Tubman, born Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland, was one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad, an abolitionist, suffragist, activist, and served in the Civil War as leader, nurse, cook, scout, and spy. Tubman was arguably the most successful individual who personally led enslaved people to freedom through her service on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil War, she was given the moniker "Moses."

Tubman's early life was spent enslaved in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland, where she was made to do various tasks including childcare, plowing, and working on the wharf. Three of her sisters were sold and separated from the family during her childhood, but her parents, Rit and Ben Ross, continued to resist and keep the remaining family together. In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, but would return to Maryland many times to recover her family and reunite them in freedom.

During the Civil War, Tubman served in South Carolina as a nurse, cook, and spy. She also became the only woman to lead a military action during the War when she led Black troops in the Combahee River Raid on June 2, 1863. The raid involved small ships and troops who destroyed roadways, and burned plantations, and collected supplies of livestock and crops. As a result of the raid, 750 enslaved people were liberated.

Records in the National Archives relating to Harriet Tubman include documents relating to her Civil War pension claims, military service records of her husband Nelson Davis (Charles), legislation establishing and images from dedicating the Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad National Parks, images from the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, and applications for designating places and areas for the National Register of Historic Places related to Tubman. 

Search the Catalog for records relating to Harriet Tubman   Social Networks and Archival Context - Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman, after the Civil War ( NAID 7718799 )

Underground Railroad Resources

National Park Service: What is the Underground Railroad?

The Underground Railroad Byway

Digital Public Library of America: Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery Project

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Harriet Tubman Resources

DocsTeach: Key Figures Who Worked to End Slavery

DocsTeach: Documents relating to Harriet Tubman

Legislative Archives: Congress and Harriet Tubman's Claim for Pension

Library of Congress: Harriet Tubman Resource Guide

National Park Service: Harriet Tubman sites

US House of Representatives: The "Very Deserving Case" of Harriet Tubman

Home / A Nation Divided, 1832-1877 / Civil War / Life Story: Harriet Tubman

Life Story: Harriet Tubman (ca. 1820–1913)

Freedom fighter.

The story of the Underground Railroad’s most famous conductor and Civil War soldier.

Maquette for “Swing Low, a Harriet Tubman memorial”

Alison Saar, Maquette for “Swing Low: A Harriet Tubman memorial,” 2007. New-York Historical Society, Purchase.

Harriet Tubman was born around the year 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland. Her parents named her Araminta Ross. Her mother, Harriet Green, was an enslaved woman owned by Mary Pattinson Brodess. Her father, Ben Ross, was an enslaved man owned by Anthony Thompson. They were brought together when Mary and Anthony got married. Ben and Harriet had nine children.

Araminta inherited the status of enslaved person from her mother. She was put to work around the age of five. When she was young, her enslaver’s son sold three of Araminta’s sisters to distant plantations, breaking up her family. Araminta’s mother fought successfully to keep the rest of her children with her, but Araminta learned as a child that her life would never be secure so long as she was enslaved.

Araminta suffered violence at the hands of her enslavers and other white people in her community. Her body was scarred from beatings. When she was a teenager, an overseer in town hit her in the head with a two-pound weight. Because of this attack, Araminta suffered from seizures, severe headaches, and narcolepsy for the rest of her life.  

Araminta married John Tubman, a local free Black man, in 1844. The marriage did not change her legal status and she remained enslaved. Around the time of her marriage, she took the name Harriet, probably in honor of her mother. In 1849, she learned that her enslaver was planning to sell her. She decided to take her own freedom rather than submit. John did not join her and eventually remarried. Her brothers set off with her but grew frightened and returned to the plantation. Harriet continued on her own. She was aided by abolitionists who belonged to the Underground Railroad network. When she reached Philadelphia, in the free state of Pennsylvania, she found a job and started a new life.

Harriet’s fame spread throughout the country, and she began to speak at abolitionist events. At the height of her fame, governments in the South offered rewards totaling $40,000 for her capture.

In 1850, Harriet learned that her niece Kessiah was going to be sold. She traveled back to Maryland and helped Kessiah and her family escape to Philadelphia. This was the first of 19 trips Harriet made to guide her family, friends, and anyone else who wanted to use the Underground Railroad to take their own freedom. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it impossible for escaped slaves to live safely in Northern states, Harriet changed her route and brought people all the way to Canada. 

Harriet was militant in her approach to guiding people on the Underground Railroad. She carried a gun and threatened to kill any person who wanted to turn back and endanger the group. She used a tonic to put babies into a deep sleep, so their cries would not draw attention during nighttime travels. She is estimated to have saved about 70 to 80 people, including her elderly parents. Her fame spread throughout the country, and she began to speak at abolitionist events. At the height of her fame, governments in the South offered rewards totaling $40,000 for her capture. Militant abolitionist John Brown admired her greatly. He called her “General Tubman” and consulted with her before conducting his raid on Harper’s Ferry. Harriet and John both believed that extreme acts were necessary to end slavery in the United States.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Harriet focused her efforts on supporting the Union Army. She was assigned to the 2 nd South Carolina Colored Troops under Colonel James Montgomery. She was given the jobs of cook and nurse because of her race and sex, but Harriet was soon performing more militaristic duties. Her knowledge of the local terrain and her Underground Railroad contacts made her an ideal spy. Her race and sex made it easy for her to slip behind Confederate lines to gather information. She did not abandon her efforts to help enslaved people—she helped the enslaved people who escaped during the war find shelter and safety. But despite all of her work, Harriet was paid very little. She supplemented her income by selling baked goods to Union soldiers.

On June 2, 1863, Harriet became the first woman to lead Union troops into battle. Based on information she had gathered, she led a group of Colonel Montgomery’s troops in a raid down the Combahee River. They destroyed Confederate Army ammunition depots and storage houses and burned several large plantations. They liberated 750 people from slavery in a single night. 

When the war ended, Harriet settled in Auburn, New York, on land she had purchased before the war. Her parents and family were already living there. In 1868, she applied for a military pension but was denied, although Black male spies and soldiers received them. In 1869, she married a Black Civil War veteran named Nelson Davis, and in 1874, they adopted a baby girl named Gertie. It was only after Nelson’s death in 1888 that Harriet began to receive a widow’s pension from the government. 

Harriet remained politically active after the war. She joined Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in their campaign for women’s rights. She attended the founding meeting of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896, where she met and supported Ida B. Wells . Yet Harriet never had enough money to live comfortably. In 1898, she petitioned the government for her military pension and back pay, but instead they increased her widow’s pension from $8 to $20 a month. 

Harriet never stopped working to improve her community and country. In 1908, she opened the Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negroes, a charity home that she hoped would carry on her work after her death. She died there in 1913 surrounded by friends and family.

• abolitionist: A person who fought to end slavery in the United States. 
• ammunition: Explosive items used by the military.
• Confederate: Relating to the group of states that seceded from the United States before the Civil War in order to preserve slavery.   
• contraband: The name the Union Army gave to all enslaved people who were liberated or escaped to Union lines during the American Civil War. 
• Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: A law that required Northern states to return runaway enslaved people to their enslavers.
• narcolepsy: A condition that causes a person to fall into a deep sleep without warning.
• overseer: A person who was in charge of supervising the work of enslaved people.
• pension: A sum of money regularly paid to a former soldier for life in recognition of their service.
• Underground Railroad: A network of safe houses that helped enslaved people travel to freedom. 
• Union: The name for the states that remained a part of the United State during the Civil War.   

Discussion Questions

• How did Harriet Tubman’s childhood affect her choices as an adult?
• What extreme actions did Harriet Tubman take to dismantle slavery in the United States?
• How did Harriet support the Union war effort? What recognition did she receive for her actions?
• How did Harriet Tubman’s race and sex affect her opportunities in life?

Suggested Activities

• APUSH Connection: 5.8 Military Conflict in the Civil War
• Harriet Tubman existed at an intersection of a variety of oppressed identities: Black, woman, poor, and dis/abled. Be sure to highlight each of these aspects of her identity when teaching her story.
• After reading this life story, invite students to read the record of Harriet Tubman’s recollections  of her early work guiding people to freedom. Why are all the sources we have on her life second hand? How does this complicate learning her story?
• Most biographies of Harriet Tubman minimize her role in the American Civil War. Ask students to consider why this might be the case, and why it is important to include this part of her story. Use this life story to move students beyond the typical narrative of Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy.
• Invite students to watch the film Harriet and consider how filmmakers adapted Harriet Tubman’s life for the big screen. What changes did they make? What do these choices reveal?
• Invite students to research the story of John Brown and write an essay considering why he and Harriet Tubman admired each other’s approach to abolition.
• To learn more about Black women’s role in the post-Civil War fight for women’s rights, visit “All Bound Up Together.”
• Harriet Tubman dedicated her final years to provide a safe home for her family and vulnerable members of her community. To learn more about Black women’s role in post-war community-building, read Life Story: Louisa Smith , Information Wanted , Life Story: Matilda Hughes , and Life Story: Elizabeth Keckley .
• Harriet Tubman was one of many Black women abolitionists operating in the antebellum period. After reading this story, invite students to learn more about the experience of Black women anti-slavery activists in the antebellum period, and compare the challenges and experiences of each: Elizabeth Jennings , Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl , Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society , Resistance , Harriet Robinson Scott , and Sojourner Truth .
• Harriet Tubman’s story illustrates one way women could take an active role in the American Civil War. For a larger lesson on this topic, teach this life story together with any of the following: Nursing , Women’s War Production , Sanitary Fairs , Smuggling , and Women Soldiers .

ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; POWER AND POLITICS

New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library Connections

• For more about the effects of the Fugitive Slave Law, see New York Divided .
• For more about Black Americans’ experiences after the Civil War, explore  Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow .

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Harriet Tubman's Life and Impact on the Underground Railroad

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Harriet Tubman stood just 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall; never learned to read or write; and spent her childhood and young adulthood as another person's property. She suffered most of her life from brutal headaches and seizures as the result of a beating. She never made much money in her lifetime, and lived humbly, eating food that she grew in garden.

But despite all that, Harriet Tubman became one of the most famous civilians and admired African-Americans in U.S. history. After escaping from slavery in 1849, she became a conductor on the Underground Railroad , bravely venturing back into the slave state of Maryland 13 times during the 1850s to help numerous other runaway enslaved people find their way north to freedom. During the Civil War, Tubman traveled south again to Fort Monroe to work as a spy, scout, nurse and cook for the Union Army. After the conflict, she established the first nursing home for elderly African-Americans [source: Larson ].

Tubman has grown into such an American icon that her legend sometimes obscures the person behind it. In this article, we'll look at the facts of her life and misconceptions about it, as well as how she became such an enduring symbol of freedom.

Early Life and Escape From Slavery

Harriet tubman and the underground railroad, secret agent for the union, a humble philanthropist and advocate for the elderly, after her death.

Tubman's Family & Birth

Harriet Ross Tubman was born into slavery around 1822 in Dorchester County Maryland on the Eastern Shore. The fifth of nine children of two enslaved parents, Benjamin Ross or Ben Ross and Harriet "Rit" Green. Her mother was owned by Mary Pattison Brodess and Tubman's father by Anthony Thompson. Her parents gave her the name Araminta, and called her "Minty" for short [source: Allen ].

As with most enslaved people, Tubman's existence was harsh and full of brutality. As her 1860s biographer Sarah Hopkins Bradford wrote , "Tubman was put to work at an early age as a field hand, following the oxen and loading and unloading wood — labor so grueling that she developed muscles that made her as powerful as some male laborers, despite her lack of stature. Her owners eventually converted her into a house maid, and she endured whippings from her mistress if her dusting and dish-washing was deemed inadequate."

Harriet Tubman as a Teenager

As a teenager, she suffered a fractured skull when an overseer hit her with an iron weight intended for another slave, and the injury caused her to suffer headaches and seizures for the rest of her life [source: Larson ].

In 1844, Araminta Ross married a free African-American named John Tubman . Though the marriage wouldn't last, she kept his surname and began using her mother's first name as her own, and became Harriet Tubman [source: Allen ]. Though her John was not an enslaved man, because she was the law at the time dictated that any children born to them would be enslaved people as well.

In March 1849, Tubman's legal owner Edward Brodess died, leaving behind an estate deeply in debt. Tubman, who'd already seen three of her sisters auctioned off, feared being sent off to an even crueler household. When her husband John refused to go along, she and her brothers Ben and Henry ran away together. After a few weeks, the two young men lost their nerve and forced her to return with them. But Tubman refused to give up. Instead, she slipped off again, this time alone.

She traveled by night, using the north star to guide her, and sought refuge during the day with Quaker families who were so opposed to slavery that they were willing to break Maryland law and help fugitives [source: Allen ]. She made her way through Delaware, and eventually crossed into free Pennsylvania. "There was such a glory over everything," she later recalled. "The sun came like gold through the trees and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven" [source: Bradford ].

But Tubman's joy at escaping slavery was muted, because her family had remained behind in servitude. "I was free, and they should be free," she later recalled thinking. She was determined to help them escape, too [source: Bradford ].

After settling in Philadelphia, she worked as a hotel cook and saved her earnings to subsidize her secret career as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a clandestine abolitionist network that had existed since the 1820s. It was a highly dangerous mission, since "slave stealers," as the Southern states called them, faced the risk of being publicly branded and jailed — and in Tubman's case, enslaved once more. And in 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which made such efforts a federal crime [source: Allen ].

That didn't stop Tubman. That same year, she slipped back into Maryland and helped her niece and her two children escape. Over the next decade, she repeated that mission a dozen more times, cautiously confining her efforts to farms that she knew on Maryland's Eastern Shore [source: Larson ].

Tubman followed elaborate procedures to maintain stealth. She wore disguises, communicated with would-be escapees through third parties, and arranged for them to meet her miles away from their cabins, to reduce the chances that they would lead pursuers to her. And if all else failed, she carried a pistol. She warned her escapees that if they tried to turn back, she would shoot them to prevent them from betraying her and the rest [sources: Allen , Quinn ].

As word got around of Tubman's successful missions, she became a sought-after speaker at abolitionist movement fundraising meetings. She also became a target of mercenary slave catchers. But their failure to apprehend her only added to her legend [source: Allen ]. Her admirers naming her "General Tubman" for her heroic deeds.

An 1849 newspaper advertisement offered $50 for Tubman's capture in Maryland and $100 for her capture outside the state. The ad described her as "of a chestnut color, fine looking, and about five feet high" [source: Larson ]. Escaping slavery became even more challenging in 1850, with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law . This law stated that any escaped enslaved people could be captured in the North and returned to enslavement.

In 1860, Tubman pulled off an even more daring feat, by thwarting federal marshals in Troy, New York, who were attempting to send a captured slave named Charles Nalle back to Virginia. Tubman disguised herself as an elderly woman and slipped into a government building. When Nalle and his captors stepped out into the street, Tubman shouted a signal from an upper-story window, and a mob of abolitionists converged on them and seized Nalle, who was spirited away to a waiting riverboat [source: Winkler ].

Sarah Hopkins Bradford's 1869 authorized biography of Tubman claimed that she had helped more than 300 enslaved people to freedom. She claimed, "I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." But according to contemporary biographer Kate Clifford Larson's research, Tubman actually led about 70 to freedom, and provided instructions that enabled another 70 or so to flee on their own.

After the Civil War broke out in 1861, Massachusetts Gov. John A. Andrew, a fervent abolitionist, contacted his friend Tubman and told her that the Union forces needed her help. He arranged transportation for Tubman to travel to Hilton Head, South Carolina, where she went to work for Maj. Gen. David Hunter. Ostensibly, her mission was to help provide food and clothing to escaped enslaved people who were flocking to the Union Army's camps, but that seems to have been a cover story for her real work in gathering intelligence. With a budget of $100 in "secret service money," she recruited a small team of escaped enslaved people who were experienced riverboat pilots and knew every inch of the South Carolina coastline, and put them to work as scouts for the Union forces [sources: Winkler , Quinn ].

After President Abraham Lincoln authorized the recruiting and deployment of African-American troops in the summer of 1862, Tubman and her spies provided intelligence for the new units. In January 1863, her team's spying helped Union forces evade Confederate guards and stage a nine-day covert operation to seize needed supplies. As historian H. Donald Winkler describes it , Tubman's scouts "evolved into a kind of special-forces operation for the Black regiments," sneaking into enemy territory to gather information on their troop movements and fortifications.

In June 1863, according to Winkler, Tubman accompanied Union Col. James Montgomery and his forces up the Combahee River in the southern low country of South Carolina and helped lead a crucial raid. Tubman and her scouts sailed upriver and stealthily went ashore to talk to the enslaved who'd placed mines in the water for Confederate forces, so they could map the locations, and locate the storehouses where the enemy kept their supplies. Then she helped guide the Union craft around the deadly mines. The resulting raid not only struck a devastating blow to the Confederate forces, but also resulted in freedom for 700 enslaved people — many of whom subsequently were recruited by Tubman to serve in the Union forces.

After the Civil War ended in a Union victory in 1865, Tubman left her position and set out for the town of Auburn, New York, where she and her family had settled on property that the state's former governor, William H. Seward, had sold her on generous terms. But on the way, she got a rough reminder that the struggle to achieve freedom for African-Americans was just beginning.

According to Tubman biographers James A. McGowan and William C. Kashatus, Tubman was accosted by a train conductor, who refused to honor her soldier's pass for a train ticket. They got into an argument, and he and several passengers threw her into the baggage car, breaking her arm and three ribs. She was unable to work for months, and the woman who'd helped to defeat the Confederacy was compelled to accept handouts from neighbors and local grocers to feed her family and elderly parents [source: NPS ].

But Tubman was too tough to despair. Once she healed, she began growing vegetables and raising chickens, worked as a domestic and took in boarders. She fell in love with one of her guests, a former enslaved man and Union Army veteran named Nelson Davis , who was 22 years her junior, and the two married in 1869. In 1874, the couple adopted a baby girl named Gertie .

But Davis' ill health and some other setbacks meant that Tubman continued to struggle to make ends meet for the next several decades [source: McGowan and Kashatus ]. While the federal government wouldn't give her a pension for her wartime service as a spy, after Davis's death in 1888, she was able to collect a widow's stipend, and eventually got a pension for having worked as a nurse in the latter part of the war [source: Larson ].

Despite her own humble circumstances, Tubman was determined to keep helping others as well. In 1896, she scraped together enough money to buy a second plot of land alongside her Auburn property, where she started a home for elderly African-Americans. Seven years later, as Tubman aged, she turned the property over the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, of which she was a member, with the understanding that the church would continue to run the home. Tubman continued to live next door until her own health began to decline, at which point she became one of the residents at the home she had founded. She passed away there in 1913, at the age of 90 [sources: NPS , Larson ].

Abolitionist insurrection leader John Brown met and became friends with Tubman in the late 1850s. He was so in awe of her toughness and courage that he insisted upon using male pronouns to describe her, saying that she was "the most of a man naturally that I ever met with" [source: Allen ]. In fact, Tubman's friends included many famous people like Frederick Douglass, William Henry Seward, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Martha Coffin Wright, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Garrett, and Susan B. Anthony

After Tubman was buried with military honors in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York, her fame continued to grow. The city of Auburn commemorated her legacy with a plaque on the courthouse. During World War II, after a successful war bond drive by the National Council of Negro Women, a Liberty ship was christened the SS Harriet Tubman in her honor [source: Larson ]. She became the subject of numerous biographies and children's books, and the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged was recognized as a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Four years later, she became the first African-American woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp [source: Larson ].

Abolitionist journalist William Lloyd Garrison nicknamed Tubman "Moses," an analogy to the Biblical Moses who led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. But the name also fit, because the deeply religious Tubman used the title of a familiar spiritual, "Go Down, Moses," as a coded message to fugitives to stay hidden [sources: Winkler , Harriet Tubman Historical Society ].

Harriet Tubman FAQ

When did harriet tubman die, how many slaves did harriet tubman save, where was harriet tubman was born, what states did harriet tubman free slaves from, did harriet tubman ever get caught, lots more information, author's note: how harriet tubman worked.

Before I took on this assignment, I knew about Harriet Tubman mostly only in the context of the Underground Railroad. It was uplifting to learn about her courageous work as a Union spy during the Civil War, and about her tireless efforts afterward to help the poor and the elderly. To me, her story really exemplifies the true greatness of America — the ordinary people who, throughout American history, have taken it upon themselves to fight against injustice and work for the good of us all.

Related Articles

• How the Underground Railroad Worked
• How the Emancipation Proclamation Worked
• John Brown's Failed Raid on Harper's Ferry Was a Major Impetus for the U.S. Civil War

More Great Links

• Library of Congress: Harriet Tubman
• Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
• Harriet Tubman items in National Museum of African American History and Culture
• The Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged
• Harriet Tubman Historical Society
• Allen, Thomas b. "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent: How Daring Slaves and Free Blacks Spied for the Union During the Civil War." National Geographic. 2006. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rrxy12
• Belvedere, Matthew J. "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin just put Harriet Tubman's role on the $20 bill in question." CNBC. Aug. 31, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://cnb.cx/2G1wmVi
• Biography. "Harriet Tubman." Biography.com. (Jan. 20, 2018) https://www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman-9511430
• Blakemore, Erin. "Harriet Tubman Is Getting Her Own National Historical Park." Smithsonian.com. Jan. 12, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G3ANPB
• Bradford, Sarah Hopkins. "Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman." W.J. Moses, Printer. 1869. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rs35Ql
• Broom, Scott. "Harriet Tubman descendants moved to tears by new center in her honor." WUSA9.com. March 10, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://on.wusa9.com/2G1LEJB
• Brown, DeNeen L. "Whether she's on the $20 bill or not, Harriet Tubman made men pay for underestimating her." Washington Post. Sept. 1, 2017. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://wapo.st/2rnkfi5
• Clinton, Catherine. "Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom." Little, Brown. 2004. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2ro5prH
• Cox, Jeremy. "Rare Tubman photo garners unexpected $161K at auction." Delmarvanow.com. March 30, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://delmarvane.ws/2G0UQOl
• Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Harriet Tubman: American Abolitionist." Britannica.com. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rlX1ZS
• Harriet Tubman Historical Society. "Facts." Harriet-tubman.org. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://www.harriet-tubman.org/facts/
• Harriet Tubman Historical Society. "Harriet Tubman, the Moses of Her People." Harriet-tubman.org. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G1CBsh
• Harriet Tubman Historical Society. "Short Biography."Harriet-tubman.org. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://www.harriet-tubman.org/short-biography/
• Harriet Tubman Historical Society. "Timeline of the Life of Harriet Tubman." Harriet-tubman.org. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://www.harriet-tubman.org/timeline/
• History.com. "Harriet Tubman." History.com. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman
• Larson, Kate Clifford. "Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero." One World Books. 2004. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rq700a
• Larson, Kate Clifford. "Five Myths About Harriet Tubman." Washington Post. April 22, 2016. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://wapo.st/2rtyG4k
• Larson, Kate Clifford. "Harriet Tubman Biography." Harriettubmanbiography.com. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G2tV4I
• Larson, Kate Clifford. "Harriet Tubman's Flight to Freedom." Harriettubmanbiography.com. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G3Igy6
• Levy, Renee Gearhart. "The Truths Behind the Myth of Harriet Tubman." Maxwell Perspective. Spring 2008. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rofVit
• Martinelli, Marissa. "The Color Purple Star Cynthia Erivo Will Play Harriet Tubman in an Upcoming Biopic." Slate. Feb. 8, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://slate.me/2FZMJ4P
• Maryris, Nina. "'Nurse, Spy, Cook: How Harriet Tubman Found Freedom Through Food." National Public Radio. April 27, 2016. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://n.pr/2roc1WR
• Masungaga, Samantha. "Harriet Tubman is the next face of the $20 bill; $5 and $10 bills will also change." Los Angeles Times. April 20, 2016. (Jan. 21,2018) http://lat.ms/2G25nZG
• McGowan, James A. and Kashatus, William C. "Harriet Tubman: A Biography." Greenwood. 2011. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rp5viL
• Michals, Debra (editor). "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. 2015. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://bit.ly/2roM1uN
• Mohsin, Saleha. "Government Proceeds With Plan to Put Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill." Bloomberg.com. Sept. 19, 2017. (Jan. 21, 2018) https://bloom.bg/2FYUIPo
• National Park Service. "Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Residence, and Thompson AME Zion Church." (Jan. 21, 2018) https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/ny1.htm
• Quinn, Ruth. "Harriet Tubman: Nurse, Spy, Scout." Army.mil. May 27, 2014. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G4hpSn
• Smithsonian Institution. "1978 Black Heritage Series: Harriet Tubman Issue." Si.edu. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://s.si.edu/2FYmqMp
• Stodghill, Ron. "Harriet Tubman's Path to Freedom." New York Times. Feb. 24, 2017. (Jan. 20, 2018) http://nyti.ms/2rlVjrq
• Winkler, H. Donald. "Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War." Cumberland House. 2010. (Jan. 21, 2018) http://bit.ly/2G1edH3

Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article:

Biography Online

Harriet Tubman biography

Tubman was born Araminta Ross, to slave parents who lived on plantations in Maryland. Little is known about her family background and ancestry, but her maternal grandmother came to the US on a slave ship from Africa (possibly from modern-day Ghana).

Her parents Rit and Ben Ross had nine children together, but three of Harriet’s sisters were sold at an early age by their owners and she never saw them again.

Even as a young child Harriet was responsible for looking after her younger siblings because her mother was too busy working as a cook. Harriet was also hired as a nursemaid to a “Miss Susan”. She was frequently whipped by her overseers – leading to scars which would last all her life. For periods of time, she was also sent out to work for a planter – checking muskrat traps – and later farming tasks, such as ploughing and moving logs.

On one occasion, Tubman was hit in the head by a stone thrown by a slave owner. The slave owner was aiming at another slave, but the stone hit Tubman in the back of her head – cracking her skull and leading to lifelong headaches, epileptic seizures and dreams or visions. Tubman later attributed her bushy unkempt hair for reducing the impact of the stone and saving her life.

Around 1844, Harriet married John Tubman. Around this time, she adopted her mother’s maiden name, Harriet, in place of her childhood name Araminta.

In 1849, Tubman’s slave owner, Edward Brodress, died. This raised the likelihood Tubman would be sold, and the family split up. With her two brothers, Ben and Henry, she decided to escape from the large plantation in Caroline County where they lived and worked. The escape was successful, but after a few weeks, her brothers had misgivings because they wanted to return to their children; Tubman was forced to return with them.

Harriet Tubman far left, at her home in Auburn, NY. Source: Bettman/Corbis, New York Times photo archive.

However, soon after, Tubman escaped for the second time. With the help of the Underground Railroad, she took a 90-mile route northeast along the Choptank River towards Pennsylvania. The journey on foot could have taken a couple of weeks, with great care being needed to avoid slave catchers, who could gain a bounty for catching any escaped slaves. After reaching Pennsylvania, she expressed her tremendous joy.

“When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”

In Philadelphia, Tubman took on odd jobs to earn some money, but she wanted to return to Maryland to rescue the rest of her family. In her own words:

“I had crossed de line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I would bring dem all dere.”

This task of retrieving slaves was made more complicated by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which heavily punished anyone helping slaves to escape – even in states which outlawed slavery.

Map of key places in Tubman’s life

However, with the aid of other abolitionist activists, such as Thomas Garrett, she made repeated trips to Maryland to rescue different members of her family. Because of her exploits, she earned the nickname “Moses” referring to the Biblical character who escaped slavery.

Reward for Harriet Tubman (using birth name – Minty)

However, her husband chose not to escape with Tubman, because in her absence he had married another woman, named Caroline. Over the next decade, Tubman helped rescue over 70 slaves, in about 13 expeditions (and offering advice to many more). She often travelled in the darker winter months, making it easier to travel incognito by night. Because of the dangers on the road, she always took a revolver with her. She was also willing to use it to threaten any escaped slave who wished to go back because she knew returning would endanger all the escapees. She was proud never to lose an escaping slave on her expeditions.

“I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” – Harriet Tubman

Given the growing racial tension and the stricter laws regarding escaped slaves, many sought to escape the US altogether, moving to Southern Ontario in Canada. Tubman took part in such travels, helping guide parties of former slaves north.

Frederick Douglass , who was a noted activist against slavery, praised Tubman for her role in helping slaves. In particular, he praised her courage and willingness to work without recognition. He said of Tubman:

“Excepting John Brown — of sacred memory — I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than you have.”

Information from Library of Congress

A significant element of Tubman’s life was her strong religious faith. From her childhood, she had learnt aural biblical stories, and although she couldn’t read, she felt a strong faith in the presence and guidance of God. She related receiving intense visions and clear messages coming from God, and on the dangerous missions, she trusted in the direction and protection of God to succeed in her mission.

In 1858, she met the radical abolitionist John Brown, who advocated violence to promote the ending of slavery. Although Tubman never promoted violence herself, she was sympathetic to the aims of John Brown and assisted him in finding willing volunteers. Brown’s raid on Harper Ferry, Virginia failed and he was executed, but Tubman praised his courage in death for trying to fight the institution of slavery.

At the outbreak of the civil war, Tubman saw a Union victory as a way to advance the cause of abolition. She served as a nurse in Port Royal, treating soldiers suffering dysentery and small pox.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation , and Tubman became more involved in the efforts of the northern forces. She offered her services as a guide for scouting trips in South Carolina – using her skills to travel undetected. She also became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War, when she guided three steamboats to an assault on plantations on the Combahee River. The raid was a great success with around 750 slaves escaping onto steamboats; later, encouraged by Tubman, many of the liberated men went on to join the Union army – forming the first all-black corps. For her courageous efforts, she received favourable press coverage, though as a black woman she received no regular pay or pension (until 1899). During the war, she had to supplement her income by selling pies and root beer.

After the civil war, Tubman returned to Auburn where she continued to look after her family and other ex-slaves. She also remarried (Nelson Davis, 20 years her junior). They adopted a child Gertie.

Denied a pension, her financial situation was poor, but friends in the abolitionist movement helped raise funds.  An authorised biography Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman  was written by Sarah Hopkins Bradford. Over the next few years, Tubman often gave speeches on both slavery and women’s rights. She was an excellent storyteller who could capture the imagination of the audience. Kate Clifford Larson writes on Tubman:

“A great storyteller she was… She moved her audiences deeply. Plainly dressed, very short and petite, quite black-skinned, and missing front teeth… Tubman shocked her audiences with stories of slavery and the injustices of life as a black woman. Black men dominated the antislavery lecture circuit. Tubman and Sojourner Truth stood for millions of slave women whose lives were marred by emotional and physical abuse at the hands of white men.”

– Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero

Tubman also began supporting the women’s suffrage movement, supporting the work of Susan B. Anthony and others. Tubman spoke of her experiences and suffering in the war and railroad movement as proof that women were the equal of men. This brought her wider national recognition.

She donated her property to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Auburn to be converted into a home for aged and coloured people.

After becoming increasingly frail, in 1913, she died of pneumonia, surrounded by friends and family. Her last words were:

“I go to prepare a place for you.”

She was buried with semi-military honours at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Harriet Tubman has become an iconic symbol of courage and resistance to injustice, inspiring many generations of civil rights activists.

In April 2016, it was announced she would figure on the US $20 bill.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan.  “ Biography Harriet Tubman” , Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net – 12th Dec. 2016, Updated 26 June 2017

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom at Amazon

Related pages

Including Harriet Beacher Stowe, Frederick Douglass and William Wilberforce.

• Harriet Tubman Biography
• Harriet Tubman's Flight to Freedom
• Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
• Harriet Tubman's Civil War
• Tubman Byway, Park, Monument

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Secrets of Harriet Tubman’s life are being revealed 100 years later

Courageous work on the Underground Railroad—and activism afterward—made Tubman one of America’s best-known historic figures. Here’s how to mark her 200th birthday.

We all think we know the Harriet Tubman story. The “Moses of her people,” Tubman née Araminta “Minty” Ross was born enslaved on Maryland ’s Eastern Shore around 1822. From a young age her enslavers rented her out to neighbors as a domestic servant. She later escaped to Philadelphia and then returned to her birthplace at least 13 times to lead 70 of her family and friends along the Underground Railroad to freedom.

That’s usually where the story of one of America’s most inspirational heroes ends, and all I knew—until I took a road trip to honor the 200th anniversary of her birth, celebrated this month. But in her nine decades (she died in 1913), Tubman did so much more.  

She was the first U.S. woman to lead an armed military raid and was a spy and nurse for the Union during the U.S. Civil War. She joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in their quest for women’s voting rights. She was an outdoorswoman, cared for battered women and children, raised money to build schools for newly freed people, and established the Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negroes , a first-of-its-kind nursing home for African Americans who had nowhere else to go.

“She doesn’t get enough credit for being a humanitarian,” says Ellen Mousin, a volunteer at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland. “People, especially in the North, often don’t realize that African Americans were not usually able to go to nursing homes or healthcare facilities. She made it possible.”

More than a century after her death, historians are still unraveling the secrets of her life. This month the nation celebrates Harriet Tubman’s bicentennial and the fifth anniversary of the two national parks named after her: one in Auburn, New York , and another in Dorchester County, Maryland. Tubman is the only African American and woman to have two named national parks. From film screenings and historical lectures to art exhibits and monument installations, here’s how travelers can uncover the mystery that shrouds Tubman’s life and honor the legacy of a woman who inspired generations.

Nevertheless, she persisted

Stepping onto the vast, open fields of Dorchester County, it’s hard to imagine what gave young Tubman the courage to escape—alone. It is harder to comprehend the ingenuity and resolve it took for her to achieve what others thought impossible, all the while helping heal a world that would rather have seen her broken.

In 1849, her enslaver, Edward Brodess, attempted to sell her, but there were no buyers due to a brain injury she suffered after helping an enslaved man run away. The overseer aimed a two-pound metal weight at the man in an attempt to make him return to work, but it fell short, striking Tubman, only 13 at the time. She would later endure frequent migraines, narcolepsy, and vivid dreams she would interpret as divine visions.

After her enslaver died later that year, Tubman knew her family would be separated, so she and her brothers took a leap of faith and fled. The attempt failed, but she tried again soon after, using the Underground Railroad—a network of safe houses and routes established by Black and white abolitionists that guided enslaved people in the South to freedom in the North—to Philadelphia, and then later Ontario, Canada , after the Fugitive Slave Act became U.S. law in 1850. The act threatened imprisonment for anyone caught assisting a fugitive and allowed headhunters to drag escaped slaves back into bondage. Her husband John Tubman, a free Black man, refused to flee with her and remarried the following year.

Tubman, of course, would go on to be a lauded leader. Yet, more than a century after her death, historians are still searching for answers about who she was.  

“There’s just so much we don’t know about Tubman’s life. In a way she became an American folk hero,” says Meghan Martinez, a professor of history at Florida State University. She believes Tubman’s legendary status may be one of the reasons why we don’t know more about her. “Americans don’t like when a story doesn’t have a happy ending. It’s easier to end her story at the Underground Railroad because it ruins our image of her being the hero when we find out she died sick and nearly destitute,” she says.

( Why Harriet Tubman risked it all for enslaved Americans .)

Marisa J. Fuentes, a professor of African American history at Rutgers University, adds that until almost two decades ago, there wasn’t much scholarly work on Harriet Tubman. “Much of what was written about Harriet until about early 2000s was for school children, leaning more into her extraordinary feats as conductor and less on the accuracy of her history,” she says. “It wasn’t until Black women opened the field of Black women’s history in the 1980s, that historians started asking the right questions.”

Last year historians uncovered the location of Harriet Tubman’s childhood home, adding another piece to the puzzle. Buried artifacts, including broken pottery, glass, and an 1808 Lady Liberty coin, helped pinpoint the site owned by her father Ben Ross. Here Tubman learned to navigate and survive in the wetlands and woods she would later use to escape to freedom. Archeologists plan to do another dig this spring, says Cierra Maszkiewicz, a park ranger at the 17-acre Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland.

“Most of everything that Tubman grew up with is still here today. What was farmland back then is still farmland today,” Maszkiewicz says. “I’ve done a couple of kayak tours right on the Black Water River. That’s where Tubman was out trapping muskrats. We’ve led guided hikes as well. You can walk through the forest just as Tubman would have done.”

( Here’s how Tubman’s birthplace is being threatened by climate change .)

The 480-acre Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park —carved out of the larger Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and shares a border with the state park—follows Tubman’s early life. It features an expansive visitor center with informative exhibits that don’t shy away from the struggles Tubman had to endure, says Maszkiewicz. It is also the site of the Brodess Farm , where Tubman was enslaved as a girl, and the Bucktown General Store where she suffered her traumatic head injury.

In Harriet’s steps

For travelers, there is no better way to experience Tubman’s history than along the 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway . Spanning three states and more than 30 sites, the self-guided driving route immerses people in the places where Tubman worked, lived, and later found freedom.

“I think it really puts you into her shoes a little bit to see how far she traveled,” says Maszkiewicz. “It took me three days to drive it, so you can only imagine how long it took her to walk it.”

Linda Harris, the director of events and planning at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, did more than just imagine Tubman’s journey. She retraced it herself on foot, walking for eight days from Dorchester County to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

“We had COVID, the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, and I felt like my freedom had been taken away. I realized the only way to earn my freedom was to walk in Harriet Tubman’s footsteps,” says Harris, who leads several Harriet Tubman walking tours each year. “I walked on the ground where the blood of my ancestors lay. I could feel as if I were being lifted by the ancestors.”

Soon after her journey, Harris started working at the community-led museum. Throughout the year the center offers guided tours of sites associated with Tubman, educational programming for children, and jazz concerts. In 2019, a powerful mural of Harriet reaching out her hand was added to the exterior of the museum.

( Explore the Underground Railroad’s great central depot .)

Just a few blocks from the Tubman Museum sits the Dorchester County Courthouse , a former slave auction site and the place where Tubman engineered her first escape. In September 2022, it will become the permanent home of a new 12,000-pound, bronze sculpture of Tubman.

Life after the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman’s story may have started in Maryland, but it didn’t end there. She dedicated her life to helping Black Americans not only survive but thrive.

“She couldn’t read or write, but she had an emotional intelligence that made people trust her,” says Millicent Sparks , a historical interpreter who portrays Tubman around the country.

Harriet’s achievements are astonishing. During the Civil War, she led an armed expedition into Confederate territory—freeing more than 700 enslaved people—and served in the Union Army as a nurse, scout, and spy. It would take her another 34 years to be recognized for her service and be paid a pension from the U.S. government. After the war, she remained an active abolitionist, befriending intellectuals such as Frederick Douglass and politicians like Secretary of State William Henry Seward. She also campaigned for women’s rights with Lucretia Coffin Mott, Martha Coffin Wright, and Susan B. Anthony.

In 2017, her New York estate, including the nursing home and the Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church where she worshipped—and raised money to build—became the 32-acre Harriet Tubman National Historical Park . It tells the story of her life as a free woman and preserves her humanitarian legacy.

“When you step onto the property you know instantly that you are in a hallowed space,” says Karen Hill, president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York. The home is an independent nonprofit established by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church to co-manage Harriet’s homestead with the National Park Service (NPS).

The visitor center, which features dozens of artifacts found on various archeological digs, is closed due to COVID-19 until summer. However, travelers can explore the landscape on guided and self-guided tours to see where Tubman farmed, created bricks in her kiln, and spent the last 54 years of her life, says Hill. She adds that the NPS is spearheading the restoration of Tubman’s church, with work set to begin in April. Visitors can see her grave at the nearby Fort Hill Cemetery , which is unaffiliated with the historical park.

“People learning about Tubman should feel encouraged about their own lives,” says Hill. “She took freedom and [weaved] into every aspect of life in America, and America is better for it.”

Celebrate Tubman’s Bicentennial

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Short Biography

• Picture Gallery

Date and place of birth

c.1820; Dorchester County, Maryland.

Date and place of death :

March 10, 1913; Auburn, New York.

Background:

Harriet Tubman was born a slave,  her parents named her Araminta “Minty” Ross. She changed her name in 1849 when she escaped . She adopted the name Harriet after her mother and the last name Tubman after her husband. Tubman suffered a head injury as a teenager which gave her vivid dreams and hallucinations, in addition to sleeping spells. She was deeply religious and according to her it was her religious beliefs that gave her courage rescue friends and family over and over again. She remained illiterate for her entire life.

Accomplishments :

Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad . In a decade she guided over 300 slaves to freedom; abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison thought she deserved the nickname “Moses” . She worked hard to save money to return and save more slaves. In time she built a reputation and many Underground Railroad supporters  provided her with funds and shelter to support her trips.

During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse, cook, laundress, spy and scout. After the Emancipation Proclamation  she returned to Auburn where she lived the rest of her life . She opened her doors to those in need. With donations and the proceeds of her vegetable garden she was able to support herself and those she helped. She raised money to open schools for African Americans and gave speeches on Women’s rights . Her dream was to built a home for the elderly and in 1908 the Harriet Tubman Home for the Elderly  was inaugurated.

Watch this interesting video by Citizen and Immigration Canada about the life of Harriet Tubman:

More videos about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad >>

A biography you might be interested in reading:, benjamin franklin, americas’s genius.

• Underground Railroad
• Later Years and Death

Learn more about the Compromise of 1850

African american civil rights movement, the life of frederick douglass, life and poems of phillis wheatley, abraham lincoln.

African American Heroes

Harriet tubman, spy.

You might know her as a conductor for the Underground Railroad. She was also a spy.

Harriet Tubman cautiously watched the shore from one of three gunboats on the Combahee River. She and several hundred Union soldiers were preparing a raid to free hundreds of enslaved people from plantations in South Carolina , part of the Confederate states that were fighting against the Union during the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Enemy soldiers were hiding nearby—success was far from guaranteed.

Harriet Tubman is well known for risking her life as a “conductor” in the Underground Railroad , which led escaped enslaved people to freedom in the North. But the former enslaved woman also served as a spy for the Union during the Civil War. Tubman decided to help the Union Army because she wanted freedom for all of the people who were forced into slavery, not just the few she could help on the Underground Railroad. And she convinced many other brave African Americans to join her as spies—even at the risk of being hanged if they were caught.

A SECRET MISSION

The Civil War was a time when women were usually restricted to traditional roles like cooking and nursing. Tubman did jobs like that, but as a spy she worked side-by-side with men, says Tom Allen, author of the Nat Geo book Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent .

In one of her most dramatic and dangerous roles, Tubman helped Colonel James Montgomery plan a raid to free enslaved people from plantations along the Combahee (pronounced “KUM-bee”) River in South Carolina. Early on the morning of June 1, 1863, three gunboats carrying several hundred male soldiers along with Tubman set out on their mission.

Tubman had gathered key information from her scouts about the Confederate positions. She knew where they were hiding along the shore. She also found out where they had placed torpedoes, or barrels filled with gunpowder, in the water.

As the early morning fog lifted on some of the South’s most important rice plantations, the Union expedition hit hard. The raiders set fire to buildings and destroyed bridges so they couldn’t be used by the Confederate Army. They also freed about 750 enslaved people—men, women, children, and babies—and did not lose one soldier in the attack.

A WRITER'S QUEST

To gather the facts, Allen searched libraries and the internet, and even walked in Tubman’s footsteps. “I went on the river just south of the area where the raid took place,” he says. “You're in that kind of country she would have known, with plenty of mosquitoes and snakes, and dirt roads are still there today—so you get a feeling of what it was like.”

Allen says his most exciting moment came when a librarian led him to written accounts by people who actually saw Tubman and the raiders in action.

“She was five feet two inches (157 centimeters) tall, born a slave, had a debilitating illness, and was unable to read or write. Yet here was this tough woman who could take charge and lead men," Allen says. "I got to like her pretty quickly because of her strength and her spirit.”

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Women heroes, women's history month, the women's suffrage movement.

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Harriet Tubman

• Occupation: Nurse, Civil Rights Activist
• Born: 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland
• Died: March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York
• Best known as: A leader in the Underground Railroad

• Her nickname as a child was "Minty".
• She was a very religious woman having learned about the Bible from her mother.
• Harriet bought a house in Auburn, New York for her parents after helping them to escape from the south.
• Harriet married John Tubman in 1844. He was a free black man. She married again in 1869 to Nelson Davis.
• She usually worked the Underground Railroad in the winter months when the nights were longer and people spent more time indoors.
• There is a story that slaveholders offered a reward of $40,000 for the capture of Harriet Tubman. This is likely just a legend and not true.
• Harriet was very religious. When she led fugitives across the border she would exclaim "Glory to God and Jesus, too. One more soul is safe!"
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

Back to Biography for Kids

Past Factory

Harriet Tubman: Little-Known Facts About The American Icon And Hero

Posted: April 4, 2024 | Last updated: April 4, 2024

A legendary abolitionist, political activist, and freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who dedicated and risked her life to help others gain their freedom as well. Utilizing the Underground Railroad, a network of anti-slavery safe houses, she led dozens of slaves to freedom, becoming a legend in her own right. However, this only scratches the surface of Tubman's actions.

Just keep clicking through to take a deeper look into the heroic life of Harriet Tubman, such as her service in the Union Army, and see how her actions went far beyond what's commonly known.

Her Exact Age Is Unknown

Harriet Tubman was born Araminta "Minty" Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland. However, because she was born into slavery, her exact age is unclear. Some believe that she was born in the early 1820s, although the National Parks Conservation Association claims she was born in 1822.

She passed away in 1913 from pneumonia, which would have made her 91 years old according to the National Park Association's estimate. She was buried with military honors in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York.

A Head Injury Affected Her Entire Life

As a child, Tubman was subjected to beatings and whippings from several slave masters. On one occasion, she suffered a severe head wound when an enraged owner threw a heavy object at another slave but ended up hitting her instead.

The injury resulted in frequent dizziness, pain, and bouts of hypersomnia during her entire life. Following her injury, she also began experiencing visions and vivid dreams, which she interpreted as premonitions from God. This, along with being raised Methodist, led to her becoming extremely devout in her faith.

She Had An Issue With Abraham Lincoln

After the onset of the Civil War, it became nearly impossible for Harriet Tubman to continue her mission of rescuing slaves. So, she settled down in Port Royal, South Carolina helping abolitionists and the Union as a nurse to freed slaves. It was during this time that Tubman came into indirect conflict with Abraham Lincoln.

Tubman was working under General David Hunter, who was assembling a regiment of freed slaves. Lincoln believed that Hunter was moving too quickly and didn't have the right to emancipate Southern slaves. This led Tubman to write a not-so-nice letter to Lincoln, although she later regretted not meeting him.

She Escaped By Herself

In 1849, Tubman's master had died, and it was assumed that she and her family were going to be split up and sold off. On September 17, Harriet and her two brothers escaped but they ended up having second thoughts and returned, forcing Harriet to come with them. However, Harriet was determined, and escaped again -- on her own this time.

Although her exact route is unknown, she utilized the Underground Railroad made up of freed slaves and abolitionists. Following the North Star, Harriet traveled over 90 miles on foot until she finally made it to freedom in Pennsylvania.

The Myth About Her Bounty

Although she had a lot of notoriety, legend says that the slave owners in Maryland were so distraught by Tubman's freeing the slaves that they offered $40,000 for her capture, dead or alive. While this makes for a good story, it's only a myth. The only known bounty put on Tubman was just $100.

It's assumed that the larger dollar amount came from a letter written by an anti-slavery activist declaring that Tubman should be awarded $40,000 as a pension for her work in the Union Army during the Civil War.

She Rescued Over 70 Slaves In 13 Trips

Although the exact number of slaves that she helped remains unknown, it's estimated that Tubman helped at least 70 slaves escape the South through the use of the Underground Railroad.

She did this by either leading them directly or providing them with the information necessary to get out on their own. These trips ended at the beginning of the Civil War, although she noted to Frederick Douglass that nobody in her care ever died along the way.

Her Nickname Was Moses

Over the 11 years and numerous trips that Tubman returned to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to help escaped slaves, she made quite a name for herself both among the slaves and the slave owners.

Because of her bravery, skill, and determination, she was nicknamed "Moses" by those who she saved in her numerous trips. This is a reference to the prophet in the Bible, who led the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt to freedom.

She Was The First Woman To Lead An Armed Assault

In 1863, Tubman became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War. While under the command of Colonel James Montgomery, she led 150 black Union troops in steamboats across the Combahee River in South Carolina. She helped guide the boats around Confederate mines and traps in the water until finally reaching the shore.

They then set fire to the surrounding plantations as the slaves scrambled to the boats. In total, over 750 slaves were rescued during the raid, with Tubman being hailed for her "patriotism, sagacity, energy, [and] ability."

She Admired Frederick Douglass

In December 1851, Tubman was leading a group of 11 fugitive slaves in the hopes of getting them to Canada. it's believed that she ended up stopping at the home of abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass to see refuge.

In his third autobiography, he wrote: "On one occasion I had eleven fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could collect sufficient money to get them on to Canada." Because of the timing and number of people, this is believed to have been Tubman's group. The two admired each other greatly, with Douglass writing a letter when her biography was being composed.

She Was Still Mistreated After The War

Even though Tubman spent years in the Union military as a nurse, fighter, and a liaison to black Union units, she was still disrespected when the war finally ended. When she decided to settle down in Auburn, New York, it was clear the country was not grateful for her service.

On a train to Auburn, she was ordered to sit in the smoking car with the other black passengers. When she mentioned her service, the conductor grabbed her and a physical altercation ensued, resulting in Tubman getting injured. She was also denied compensation or a pension for her service for decades.

She Was Almost A Part Of The Raid On Harper's Ferry

In 1858, Harriet Tubman met John Brown, a white abolitionist who believed that he had been called by God to bring an end to slavery. Although Brown was much quicker to resort to violence than Tubman, the two worked together for a year.

Tubman is credited with assembling a fighting force of freed slaves that Brown would use to overrun the armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. When the time of the raid had come, Brown asked "General Tubman" to join him in battle, but she was not available. The raid was a complete disaster, and Brown was hanged for treason.

She Worked As A Scout For The Union Army

When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863, Tubman was further inspired and became a scout. She was a leader through the lands around Port Royal, and her knowledge of navigating bogs and rivers in stealth was put to use against the Confederacy.

She worked under the orders of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, mapping the unfamiliar terrain and observing its inhabitants. She also worked with Colonel James Montgomery, providing him with crucial information that resulted in the capture of Jacksonville, Florida.

She Had Brain Surgery Without Anesthesia

Even in her advancing age, her headaches and seizures from her early head injury continued to plague her. Finally, in the 1890s, she underwent brain surgery at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital. At that point, she was unable to sleep from the constant "buzzing" in her head and requested to have an operation.

According to Tubman, "[the surgeon] sawed open my skull and raised it up, and now it feels more comfortable." She did not receive anesthesia for the procedure and instead bit down on a bullet as she had seen Civil War soldiers do when they had their limbs amputated.

She Married A Younger Man

After settling in Auburn, New York, without a pension, Tubman struggled to make ends meet and was forced to make a living performing odd jobs and taking in boarders. One of these people living with her was a former Union soldier named Nelson Davis.

The two fell in love and were married, although Davis was more than 20 years younger. Together, they adopted a baby girl named Gertie in 1874 and lived together as a family. Unfortunately, Davis passed away on October 14, 1888, of tuberculosis.

She Was Scammed For Gold

Even though she received some money for a two-volume biography written by an admirer, she was still in desperate need of money. In 1873, two men approached Tubman about handling a gold transfer worth around $5,000, for $2,000 in cash.

In need of money and assuming the men were innocent, Tubman agreed to make the transfer. After borrowing the cash from a wealthy friend, she went to make the transfer. It was there that the men attacked her, rendered her unconscious with chloroform, and took the money.

She Became An Advocate For Women's Suffrage

After the Civil War and her time working as an abolitionist had ended, Tubman became involved with the women's suffrage movement. She toured around the east coast, telling her story and working alongside others such as Susan B. Anthony and Emily Howland.

When the National Federation of Afro-American Women was founded in 1896, she was the keynote speaker at the group's first meeting. Although she had made a name for herself in an entirely new cause, her poverty still forced her to sell a cow in order to attend a reception in Boston honoring her actions in the movement.

She Became Heavily Involved in The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

In the early 1900s, Tubman became deeply involved in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Auburn, New York. In 1903, she even donated a piece of real estate that she owned to the church, to be used as a home for "aged and indigent colored people."

The home opened five years later, although it charged a $100 entrance fee for each resident. Tubman was disgusted by this, commenting, "they make a rule that nobody should come in without they have a hundred dollars. Now I wanted to make a rule that nobody should come in unless they didn't have no money at all."

She Was An Impressive Nurse

While serving as a nurse in Port Royal, Harriet Tubman used the local fauna to help heal soldiers who were suffering and dying from dysentery. She also risked the chance of getting smallpox while tending to others, although she never contracted the disease.

This led some people to believe that she was protected by God. As a nurse, she received government rations, but when other freed slaves saw this as special treatment, she quickly gave them up and started selling pies instead.

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