International Women's Month Spotlight


 Harriet Tubman Day honors the day of her death, 1913.

She was born into slavery as Araminta Ross in 1822, but married a free man, John Tubman, in 1844.  Any children they would have would be enslaved though, and by 1849 she was in the process of being sold, so she decided to escape.

She returned from Philadelphia to Maryland to help free her family.  One group at a time, she got them out of the state, guiding others as well.  They called her Moses.

After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, she had to travel farther north into Canada.

In 1858, she met John Brown and helped him plan and recruit supporters for the raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859.

During the Civil War, she was a cook and a nurse before becoming an armed scout and spy.  She guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, which liberated 700 enslaved people.  She is thus credited as the first woman to lead an armed military operation in the United States.

After the war, she helped establish an elderly home for African Americans, and that is where she died.

This was her home in Auburn, NY.


From 1851-1862, she led 13 expeditions, rescuing an estimated 70 slaves.  She instructed 50-60 others.

Hers is a legacy of courage and freedom.


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