Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist, Underground Railroad Conductor and Union Scout

Harriet Tubman (c.1820–1913), born Araminta Ross, escaped slavery and returned to lead dozens to freedom via the Underground Railroad; Civil War nurse, scout and raid leader, later a women's suffrage advocate.

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 14, 2022 Last updated: April 10, 2026

Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; circa 1820 or 1821 – March 10, 1913) was an African American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union agent. Born into slavery, she escaped and returned repeatedly to lead others to freedom. During the Civil War she served the Union in several roles, including as a scout and spy, and later became active in the movement for women's voting rights.

Early life

Araminta Ross was born on the Eastern Shore of Dorchester County in Maryland. As a child she endured harsh treatment and frequent whippings from different owners and overseers. A traumatic head injury occurred when an overseer threw a heavy metal weight that struck her; that injury produced lifelong seizures, intense headaches, and vivid visions she interpreted as spiritual guidance.

Flight to freedom and rescue missions

In 1849 she made her own escape to freedom, reaching Philadelphia. Once settled in the North, she took the name Harriet Tubman and returned to the South many times to lead others to liberty. Using the network known as the Underground Railroad, she made roughly nineteen excursions into slave-holding territory and is credited with personally guiding dozens of people—family members and others—to freedom. Slaveholders posted large rewards for her capture, but she was never caught.

Civil War service

When the American Civil War began, Tubman offered her services to the Union. She worked as a nurse and caregiver and later as a scout and intelligence operative for the Union Army. Tubman is often noted as the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the conflict; in 1863 she guided the Combahee River Raid, a mission in which Union forces liberated hundreds of enslaved people in coastal South Carolina.

Later years and legacy

After the war Tubman settled near family in Auburn, New York, where she cared for elderly relatives and remained involved in public causes. She took part in the struggle for women's suffrage and in community projects, including an institution that provided housing for aged African Americans; she eventually spent her final years in that home. Tubman died in 1913 and is remembered for her courage, leadership, and lifelong commitment to freedom and equality.

Birth name: Araminta Ross
Escaped slavery: 1849
Underground Railroad conductor: made ~19 missions into the South
Civil War service: nurse, scout, spy, and led a Union raid
Later activism: care for family, support for women's suffrage

Questions and Answers

Q: Who was Harriet Tubman?

A: Harriet Tubman was an African-American anti-slavery worker, humanitarian, Union spy and the first black woman to ever lead an American mission during the American Civil War.

Q: How did she escape slavery?

A: She escaped to Philadelphia where slaves were free. She later returned to Maryland to rescue her family and guided dozens of other slaves to freedom.

Q: What caused Tubman's health problems?

A: When she was very young, an angry overseer threw a heavy metal weight at another slave which accidentally hit Tubman's head causing seizures, headaches, powerful visionary and dream experiences that she had all her life.

Q: What did Tubman do during the American Civil War?

A: During the American Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union Army as a cook, nurse, armed scout and spy. She was also the first woman to lead an armed group in the war and guided the Combehee River Raid which freed more than 700 slaves in South Carolina.

Q: What did Tubman do after the war?

A: After the war ended, she moved to her family home in Auburn New York where she cared for her aging parents and became active in women's suffrage movement until she became ill. Near the end of her life, she lived in a home for elderly African Americans which she helped create years earlier.

Q: How did people try to stop Harriet from freeing slaves?

A: Slave owners offered large rewards for anyone who could return their slaves but nobody knew it was Harriet freeing them so they never caught her.

Author

Creation date: November 14, 2022

Last updated: April 10, 2026