A Mighty Raider!

I sincerely hope that all of you residents of the United States were finally able to enjoy a big gathering with family, friends, and/or coworkers to celebrate Independence Day this past “Fourth of July!” I did. . .and it was greatly satisfying to do so without the need to wear a mask with Covid under control here in New York State. Now, after taking a break from my blog last week, onward and upward to my next post.

In my previous post of Pioneering Women of Civil War America (Fourteenth Installment) about Mary Boykin Miller Chestnut, I promised I’d feature another woman of Civil War times who was “A Mighty Raider!” Let me now present to you:

Harriet Tubman (circa 1822 – 1913)

Of course, Harriet is well known to the world as being the “Moses of Her People” for having guided, in her own words:

One thousand slaves to freedom!

This set an unprecedented bounty of $40,000 for her capture or death as shown by the poster below:

But did you know about Harriet’s other great accomplishments?

She’s proclaimed the first woman to take charge of strategizing and leading a military offensive, which helped, in 1863, to free approximately 750 slaves around the Combahee River of Low Country, South Carolina. Afterward, many of these freedmen showed their loyalty by enlisting in the Union Army to fight alongside their Northern liberators. Harriet’s knowledge of the routes throughout the South from her days of navigating in and around the Underground Railroad made her an invaluable resource for this mission and in her future roles as a Yankee scout and spy.

Besides acting as a guerilla soldier, scout, and spy for the Union Army, Harriet nursed the wounded and ill soldiers. Thus, Harriet is regarded as the first African American woman to serve in the military. But there could be others ahead of Harriet who could stake a claim to this feat as women soldiers, in general, fought in disguise during the American Civil War.

Although the federal government awarded Harriet a widow’s pension of $8.00/month in 1895 for her husband’s military service, she finally, in 1899, won her own hard-fought military pension of $20/month.

Speaking of raids, Harriet also helped recruit supporters for John Brown’s Raid on the Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in 1859.

What in Harriet’s background gave her the courage and motivation to accomplish her pioneering deeds?

Mostly, as a former slave herself who, beginning in her youth, was whipped or beaten by masters or overseers, she loathed any tradition that embraced enslavement and abuse of a people.

She also claims to have received signs from God for her to fight for others’ freedom. These visions started shortly after the age of twelve when she was struck in the head by a metal weight which veered off the path of her overseer’s intended victim (another slave) and caused her dizziness, pain, and narcoleptic spells throughout the duration of her life.

How Harriet managed to forge on with so many ill-advised missions into the South to free others with her severe medical handicap is nothing short of a miracle!

Harriet would agree with the above as she was deeply religious.

Anyway, Harriet’s interminable courage and compassion continued post-war as she took up the sword to fight for women’s suffrage and equal rights for all, as well as opening up her home in Auburn, New York, to care for the elderly.

I’ll end here with the hopes that you’ve enjoyed this post and that I’ve whet your appetite to learn more about Harriet Tubman at the following places:

Video on My Complimentary Civil War Women Website.

Article at National Women’s History Museum.org:
Biography of Harriet Tubman

Book on Amazon:
Harriet, The Moses of her People: A Biography of Harriet Tubman by Sarah Hopkins Bradford

Stay Tuned for the Next Installment of Pioneering Women of Civil War America, Which Promises to Feature. . .

. . .A Cyclone in Calico!