Harriet Tubman may best be known as the conductor of the Underground Railroad in which she freed 300+ slaves. But what might not been known of her is that she was also a Union spy in the Civil War. She, herself, escaped from slavery in 1849, when she was 29-years-old. Being rented out at a slave at 5-years-old, she always knew that she wanted freedom for herself and other people. At the age of 15, she helped her first person escape. At the age of 24, she married John Tubman, who was a free blackman. At the time of marriage, Harriet was still a slave. She desperatley wanted to be free, but John refused and threatened to tell her master that she was going to escape. When she found out that she was going to get sold, she knew that she had to escape: with or without John. From that moment on, she joined the Underground Railroad and helped with 19 missions.
When the war started in 1861, she decided to become a nurse in the Union hospitals. She went to South Carolina and helped care for the contrabands: African-Americans who were no longer slaves, but not legally free. Many had fled the plantations to join the Union Army. Many of them were sick and malnourished. She also nursed wounded white Union soldiers who were the first casualties of the war. While she was working as a nurse, was recruited by Union officers to establish a network of spies in South Carolina made up of former slaves.
Harriet gathered together a group of black men and led them on scouting expeditions- having them dress up as a confedarate solider, or posing as servants or slaves. They gathered information on Confederate troop movements, size of the armies, how well they were armed, and information on the land itself. By doing this, she did not only want to help the Union win the war, she wanted to help free the slaves from their masters. By learning the information on where the Confederates would be, she would be able to know when the slaves would be able to make their escape.
Her biggest mission, the one that set her apart from the other espionages, was the raid on Combahee River. The Union army gave her 3 boats and 150 black soliders, led by Colonel James Montgomery. Together, they managed to destroy plantations and help free 700 slaves. Tubman became the first woman in the country’s history to lead a military expedition.
She led the espionage ring until the year 1865, when she returned to her hometown in Auburn, New York. Because of the violence she endured as a slave, she had to undergo brain surgery, in 1908, and then died later of pneumonia in 1913. She was buried with military honors in Fort Hills Cemetary, in Auburn, New York.
When the war started in 1861, she decided to become a nurse in the Union hospitals. She went to South Carolina and helped care for the contrabands: African-Americans who were no longer slaves, but not legally free. Many had fled the plantations to join the Union Army. Many of them were sick and malnourished. She also nursed wounded white Union soldiers who were the first casualties of the war. While she was working as a nurse, was recruited by Union officers to establish a network of spies in South Carolina made up of former slaves.
Harriet gathered together a group of black men and led them on scouting expeditions- having them dress up as a confedarate solider, or posing as servants or slaves. They gathered information on Confederate troop movements, size of the armies, how well they were armed, and information on the land itself. By doing this, she did not only want to help the Union win the war, she wanted to help free the slaves from their masters. By learning the information on where the Confederates would be, she would be able to know when the slaves would be able to make their escape.
Her biggest mission, the one that set her apart from the other espionages, was the raid on Combahee River. The Union army gave her 3 boats and 150 black soliders, led by Colonel James Montgomery. Together, they managed to destroy plantations and help free 700 slaves. Tubman became the first woman in the country’s history to lead a military expedition.
She led the espionage ring until the year 1865, when she returned to her hometown in Auburn, New York. Because of the violence she endured as a slave, she had to undergo brain surgery, in 1908, and then died later of pneumonia in 1913. She was buried with military honors in Fort Hills Cemetary, in Auburn, New York.