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| Woodcut printed in Sarah Bradford's The Scenes and Life of Harriet Tubman. This image is in the public domain. |
Harriet Tubman, one of the most iconic black Americans in the history of country, is best known for her efforts as a "conductor" on the underground railroad, sneaking runaway slaves to the North and freedom. What isn't as well known about Tubman, however, is that during the Civil War she also led a raid near the Combahee River in South Carolina.
Under orders from Union commander Colonel James Mongomery, Tubman scouted the area and then on June 1, 1863, led several gunboats along the river banks. While soldiers burned the plantations, tore up railroad tracks, and laid torpedoes (mines) upriver, Tubman encouraged more than 800 slaves to come aboard the gunboats, which would take them to freedom.
Tubman's account, as told to Sarah Bradford, author of The Scenes and Life of Harriet Tubman, are recounted as follows:
"I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', chickens screamin', young ones squallin'."
Many were too scared to get on board, so, according to Bradford, Tubman began to sing:
Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West,
The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best.
Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed,
Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm.
The slaves boarded the gunboats, which transported them to the relative safety of Beaufort, South Carolina.
Sources:
LeSourd, Nancy. "Harriet Tubman: Civil War Spy, Daring Soldier." Accessed at http://libertyletters.com/resources/civil-war/harriet-tubman-civil-war-spy.php, on January 6, 2012.
Bradford, Sarah. The Scenes and Life of Harriet Tubman. W.J. Moses Printer. Located at http://www.archive.org/stream/scenesinlifeofha00bradrich#page/n7/mode/2up. Accessed on January 6, 2012.
