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Harriet Tubman
(1821-1913)
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Harriet Tubman was born a slave. She was the fourth generation of her family to be used as a slave in the United States. Named Araminta by her slave master she refused to accept this slave custom and used her mother’s name.
Short in stature and plain, she was victim to many beatings from an early age. While aiding in her husband’s attempt to escape she was hit in the head with a heavy object which left her prone to suffer sudden sleeping spells. Because of her illness, she was spared the typical fate of many young enslaved women. Instead of being sold away from her family she was permitted to remain near her family. For this, she paid a heavy price, as she was forced to do the same hard work usually performed by the male slaves. Harriet learned about surviving and travel away from her plantation when the slave owner hired her out to others.
She learned how to recognize which way was north by looking at the moss growing on the trees and to use the Big Dipper (known as the drinking gourd) as a means of locating where she was. With determination and courage, Harriet first set out for freedom without her husband or her family aware of what she was planning. Not satisfied with her own fortunate escape she made a total of 19 trips to slave holding areas in the south guiding more than 300 people to their freedom. As word of her exploits spread, rewards totalling
$ 40,000 were offered to anyone who could capture her. It was never collected.
During the American Civil War, Harriet joined the Union Army where she served first as a nurse, then later as a spy. Called the Moses of her people, Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous of all conductors on the Underground Railroad.
