Existing comment:
Harriet Tubman, c 1820-1913
Named Araminta Ross and born a slave, Harriet Tubman rebelled against her servitude from her earliest years, running away as early as age seven. At fifteen, she defied an overseer and was nearly killed when he gave her "a stunning blow to the head." Barely recovering, she regained her health, cultivated her toughness, and nurtured her anger. In 1844, she married a freedman, John Tubman, and in 1849 she escaped to Philadelphia, discarding her slave name for her mother's name, Harriet. After her husband refused to join her, Tubman became the lead conductor on the Underground Railroad, guiding escaping slaves to freedom. She made nineteen recorded trips out of the South and was reputed never to have lost a soul. Tubman was active throughout the abolitionist movement and conspired with John Brown about raiding the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, although she did not participate.
H. Seymour Squyer, 1885 |