By: Nathalia Guerrero Monica Joy

 Born: 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland  Died: March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York  She was a runaway slave from Maryland.  She was know as “Moses of her people”  Her name at birth was Araminta Ross.  She was one of 11 children of Harriet and Benjamin Ross born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland.  From a young age she was determined to gain her freedom.

 As a nursemaid, Ross had to stay awake all night so that the baby wouldn't cry and wake the mother. If Ross fell asleep, the baby's mother whipped her.  As a slave, Araminta Ross was scared for her life when she refused to help in the punishment of another young slave. This resulted in a confrontation with her master that consisted of a young slave attempting to run away. The master threw an iron weight to stop him but missed impaling Ross in the head, nearly smashing her skull causing consistent seizures throughout her life.

 In 1850, Harriet helped her first slaves escape to the North.  One year after she arrived in Philadelphia she decided to return to Maryland to free her sister and her sister's family.  She sent a message to her sister's oldest son that said for them to board a fishing boat in Cambridge that would sail up the Chesapeake Bay and meet Harriet in Bodkin's Point. Afterwards, Harriet guided them from safehouse to safehouse in Pennsylvania until they reached Philadelphia.

Harriet Tubman as "Conductor" with escaped slaves at an Underground Rail Road station.

 They usually left on a Saturday evening and use the Sabbath day to cover their absence and if anyone did note their flight, the Sabbath would certainly delay anyone from organizing an effective pursuit or publishing a reward.  Throughout 16 years, she returned 18 or 19 more times, bringing a total of over 200 slaves out of slavery.

 In September of the same year, Harriet was made an official "conductor" of the UGRR. This meant that she knew all the routes to free territory and she had to take an oath of silence so the secret of the UGRR would be kept secret.  The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was passed thus the Underground Railroad tightened security. It created a code to make things more secret and also sending the escaping slaves into Canada instead of the "North" of the U.S.

This is a painting of Harriet Tubman escorting escaped slaves over a bridge into Canada where they are being greeted by white people. On the left bottom corner there is a man on his knee giving thanks for freedom.

 In July of 1863, the Union Army asked Harriet Tubman to organize a network of scouts and spies among the black men of the area.  Harriet Tubman led troops under the command of Colonel James Montgomery in the Combahee River expedition, disrupting Southern supply lines by destroying bridges and railroads, freeing more than 750 slaves. Tubman came under Confederate fire on this mission. General Saxton, who reported the raid to Secretary of War Stanton, said "This is the only military command in American history wherein a woman, black or white, led the raid and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted."

 Harriet Tubman didn’t take no stuff  Wasn’t scared of nothing neither  Didn’t come in this world to be no slave  And wasn’t going to stay one either  “Farewell!” she sang to her friends one night  She was mighty sad to leave ‘em  But she ran away that dark, hot night  Ran looking for her freedom  She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods  With that slave catchers right behind her  And she kept on going till she got to the North  Where those mean men couldn’t find her  Nineteen times she went back South  To get three hundred others  She ran for her freedom nineteen times  To save Black sisters and brothers  Harriet Tubman didn’t take no stuff  Wasn’t scared of nothing neither  Didn’t come into this world to be no slave  And didn’t stay one either  by Eloise Greenfield

 This is a poem about Harriet Tubman’s long life struggles to become a free black woman along with other soon to be free slaves. This poem also describes how she wasn’t going to settle to stay a slave her whole life and how she wasn’t afraid to try to gain her freedom and free her fellow brothers and sisters into the North.

 man/a/tubman_civilwar.htm man/a/tubman_civilwar.htm  bman.html bman.html  wny-tubman.html wny-tubman.html