She was a spy during the Civil War
When the American Civil War erupted in 1861, Tubman and her fellow abolitionists sided with the Union. They saw the defeat of the Confederacy as an essential stepping stone to ending slavery for good. To begin with, Tubman served as a nurse. She ended to sick soldiers in Port Royal, including men suffering from smallpox. But, while she was a good nurse, she also had more useful skills, and these were soon put to good use by the Union military.
Working alongside Colonel James Montgomery, Tubman was tasked with leading scouting missions behind enemy lines. Using her experience of travelling undetected, she helped map the marshes and rivers of South Carolina. Her intelligence was crucial when Montgomery took the city of Jacksonville. Her scouting missions also helped the Union gain an idea of the morale of the people living on the other side of the frontlines. But Tubman wanted to do even more. She was, after all, a woman of action. And in the summer of 1863, her chance finally came.
Montgomery launched a series of raids on plantations dotted along the Combahee River. Tubman was put in charge of three steamboats. She guided them around mines, leading them safely to the river’s edge. There, Union troops fought the enemy in a series of skirmishes. Under the cover of fire, around 750 slaves ran to freedom, many of them boarding Tubman on the steamboats. Her heroism and leadership made headline news. What’s more, her bravery inspired many of those rescued slaves to join up and fight with the Union. After that heroic raid, however, Tubman largely returned to nursing and advocacy.