Harriet Tubman Part 2
by
John C Abercrombie
Many people are familiar with the work of Harriet Tubman, risking her freedom and even her life leading slaves to freedom. We see the danger she faced each time. We see the skill of navigating the terrain and reading people as she accomplished her mission without fail, but there is another side to her work that is every bit as dangerous as the work of delivering slaves to freedom.
We will now look at other outstanding accomplishments that would represent an amazing life’s work for anyone without the above dedication. Keep in mind that we are still talking about Harriet Tubman, the woman who led slaves to freedom.
At the start of the Civil War, Tubman saw a Union victory as a major step towards ending slavery. General Benjamin Butler saw slaves as contraband of war and put them to work as soldiers, although in the beginning they were not paid. When they did begin to get paid, it was less than White soldiers. The Black troops refused to accept the lower wage and in June of 1864, Private Sylvester Ray was recommended for trial because of the refusal.
Later that month, Congress granted equal pay to the United State Colored troops and made the action retroactive.
Tubman was eager to offer her expertise and skill to the Union cause and joined a group headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina. She became a fixture in Port Royal, South Carolina, assisting fugitives.
General David Hunter a strong supporter of abolition declared all of the Black “contrabands” free and started forming a Black regiment. President Lincoln reprimanded Hunter for the action.
Note: At this point, it was Lincoln’s intent to keep America united and not to end slavery.
Tubman condemned President Lincoln’s response and unwillingness to consider ending slavery. She is quoted as saying, “God won’t let Master Lincoln beat the South until he does the right thing and end slavery.
Her condemnation of Lincoln can be seen in her statement, “Master Lincoln, he’s a great man, and I am a poor Negro; but the Negro can tell Master Lincoln how to save the money and the young men. He can do it by setting the Negro free. Suppose that was an awful big snake down there, on the floor. He bite you. Folks all scared, because you die. You send for a doctor to cut the bite; but the snake, he rolled up there, and while the doctor doing it, he bite you again. The doctor dug out that bite; but while the doctor doing it, the snake, he spring up and bite you again; so, he keep doing it, till you kill him. That’s what master Lincoln ought to know.”
After the Emancipation Proclamation, Tubman renewed her support for the defeat of the Confederacy. She began to lead scouts through the land around Port Royal as the marshes and rivers in South Carolina were similar to those of Eastern Maryland and she was able to read them with great accuracy. Her knowledge of covert travel and subterfuge was of immense value. Working under Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, her group mapped the unfamiliar terrain and reconnoitered the inhabitants.
She then worked with Colonel James Montgomery and provided intelligence that led to the capture of Jacksonville, Florida.
Tubman became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the civil war when Montgomery conducted an assault on a collection of plantations on the Combahee River. She served as key adviser and accompanied the troops. She guided 3 steamboats around Confederate mines.
The Union troops burned the plantations and seized thousands of dollars’ worth of food and supplies. The steamboats then sounded their whistles signaling the slaves that they had been liberated. The steamboats packed full of slaves took off towards Beaufort, South Carolina.
More than 750 slaves were rescued in the Combahee River Raid. Newspapers heralded Tubman for her patriotism and ability. They praised her recruiting efforts as most of the newly liberated men joined the Union Army.
Tubman then worked with Colonel Robert Gould Shaw in the assault on Fort Wagner, a fort on Morris Island, South Carolina. After the assault on Fort Wagner, Tubman worked for 2 more years, tending to newly liberated slaves, nursing wounded soldiers and scouting into Confederate territory. After the war ended, Tubman donated several more months service before heading home to Auburn, New York.
while riding the train to her home in New York, the conductor demanded her to move to the smoking car. She refused, the conductor physically grabbed her and summoned 2 other passengers to help him. While she clung to the railing, they broke her arm and threw her into the smoking car while the other White passengers shouted, cursed her and shouted for the conductor to kick her off of the moving train.
Tubman spent her last years in Auburn and took various jobs to support herself and her elderly parents. She took in boarders, one a veteran of the 8th United States Colored Infantry whom she later married. They married in the Central Presbyterian Church, later adopting a baby girl. They lived as a family until her husband Nelson died of tuberculosis in 1888.
Tubman’s friends and supporters came to her aid raising funds to support her. One, Sarah Hopkins Bradford wrote a biography “Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman”. Published in 1869, it raised $1,200. Bradford wrote a second “Harriet, the Moses of her People”, it was published in 1886.The proceeds of both books went to support Harriet and her causes.
Tubman applied for a pension for her service to the military and was denied. After going through tough economic times, many people sent letters and documents in support of Tubman and Congress passed and President William McKinley signed H.R. 4982, which authorized payment of Tubman’s pension of $20.00 per month for her service as a nurse.
Later in life, Tubman worked to promote the cause of women’s suffrage, including the right to vote. A White woman asked her if she believed women had the right to vote. Tubman, still mentally sharp, responded “I suffered enough to believe it”. Tubman remained active and worked alongside women such as the well-known Susan B Anthony and Emily Howland.
Anthony was a women’s rights activist, playing a pivotal role in the suffrage movement. Anthony was also involved in anti-slavery work and collected petitions when she was 17. Later Anthony became the New York state agent for the American Anti-slavery Society.
Howland was a philanthropist and educator. She was known for her activities in education for Blacks as well as a supporter of Women’s rights. Howland personally financed the education of many Blacks and contributed to institutions such as Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.
Tubman frequently spoke in favor of women’s voting rights, using the sacrifices of many women as well as her contributions during the Civil War, citing them as evidence of women’s equality to men.
A publication called “The Women’s Era” launched a series of articles on “Eminent Women with a profile of Tubman. A suffragist newspaper reported a series of receptions honoring Tubman in Boston.
In the early 1900’s, she became involved in the American Methodist Episcopal Church in Auburn. In 1903, she donated land to build a home for “aged and indigent colored people.” om
As Tubman aged, she suffered seizures and headaches from the head injury she suffered as a child. By 1911, she was so frail that she was admitted to the rest home named in her honor, built on the land she donated to the church. Her supporters came forth with donations for her care. Surrounded by friends and family members, Tubman died of pneumonia in 1913. She was buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York with military honors.
Harriet Tubman has been proposed for placement on the United States of America $20.00 bill, however, the honor has been delayed several times and is currently being delayed once again. Contrast this to Canada placing Viola Desmond on the $10.00 bill. Click the following link Viola Desmond on the Canadian $10.00
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Harriet Tubman – Civil Rights Activist | Mini Bio | BIO
Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman (c. 1820 to March 10, 1913) escaped to freedom in the North in 1849 to become the most famous “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Tubman risked her life to lead hundreds of family members and other slaves from the plantation system to freedom on this elaborate secret network of safe houses. A leading abolitionist before the American Civil War, Tubman also helped the Union Army during the war, working as a spy among other roles. After the Civil War ended, Tubman dedicated her life to helping impoverished former slaves and the elderly. In honor of her life and by popular demand, in 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the center of a new $20 bill.
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The Road to Freedom
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Harriet Tubman: Soldier/Spy | History
Harriet Tubman, former slave, is known for her role in the underground railroad, but did you know she served in the union army as a soldier and a spy? #HistoryChannel
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Television
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Harriet Tubman – They Called Her Moses
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Black Spies and Secret Agents
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Human Hair for Black Women
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I am Harriet Tubman (Ordinary People Change the World)
This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great–the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero’s childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline
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Harriet Tubman has been proposed for the$20.00 United States Currency. It initally was to be printed in 2020, however we continue to postpone, and make excuses. Despite the fact that the United States prints an average of $541 million dollars in currency every day, the latest excuse is that we need additional security measures. What about the bills being printed every day?
Look at what Canada has done to honor a Black on its currency. http://amazingblackhistory.com/2019/02/28/desmond-viola-from-arrestee-to-honoree/
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Ida B Wells is a true champion of the Civil Rights of Black people. A journalist who wrote so articulately the horror of being Black in America. Exposing the hypocrisy of liberty and justice for all. That all people are treated equally. She is a prime example of the pen being mightier than the sword. Her words should be read by all. Take a look at those suggestions in this post.