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Letter to Harriet Tubman

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Rochester, August 29, 1868

Dear Harriet: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more than you can need them from me, especially where your superior labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our land are known as I know them.

The difference between us is very marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in a private way. I have wrought in the day – you in the night. I have had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt, “God bless you,” has been your only reward.

The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John Brown – of sacred memory – I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony for your character and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy.

Your friend,
Frederick Douglass.

OTD: Harriet Tubman’s Raid on Combahee Ferry

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Harriet Tubman’s Raid on Combahee Ferry

  • Date: Jun 2, 1863
  • Location: Combahee River, South Carolina
  • Freedom Fighters: Harriet Tubman, 150 freed slaves, and the Union Navy
  • Result: A successful raid that freed 750 enslaved people

Background

Harriet Tubman was a former slave who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people escape to freedom in the North. In 1863, she led a daring raid on Combahee Ferry, South Carolina, where she guided 150 freed slaves to freedom aboard three Union Navy gunboats.

The Raid

Tubman and the freed slaves boarded the gunboats at night and sailed up the Combahee River. They avoided Confederate mines and patrols, and eventually reached the Union-controlled town of Beaufort. The raid was a complete success, and Tubman was hailed as a hero.

“Once ashore, the Union troops set fire to the plantations, destroying infrastructure and seizing thousands of dollars worth of food and supplies. When the steamboats sounded their whistles, slaves throughout the area understood that it was being liberated. Tubman watched as slaves stampeded toward the boats. “I never saw such a sight,” she said later, describing a scene of chaos with women carrying still-steaming pots of rice, pigs squealing in bags slung over shoulders, and babies hanging around their parents’ necks.

Although their owners, armed with handguns and whips, tried to stop the mass escape, their efforts were nearly useless in the tumult. As confederate troops raced to the scene, steamboats packed full of slaves took off toward Beaufort. More than 700 slaves were rescued in the Combahee River Raid. Newspapers heralded Tubman’s ‘patriotism, sagacity, energy and ability,’ and she was praised for her recruiting efforts – most of the newly liberated men went on to join the Union army.” – African Archives Educational Center

Significance

The Combahee Ferry Raid was a major victory for the Union and a turning point in the Civil War. It also marked the first time that a woman had led a military operation in the United States. Tubman’s courage and determination inspired others, and she became a symbol of the struggle for freedom.