In many ways Harriet Tubman remains as mythic and
elusive as she was more than 150-years ago and the best way to understand any
of her legendary status is to follow her path. It seems that she was everywhere
and functioned in numerous capacities during her 90 odd years. In 1973 she was
inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Humanities and she is
honored at sites in several states, all within driving distance of
Philadelphia.
Begin
your tour at the waterfront Sailwinds Dorchester County Visitor Center. It is
the first stop on the 36 site Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and
goes on for 125-miles to the Delaware State Line. www.visitdorchester.org
In the 1700s
an Ashanti female captive disembarked, probably at what is now Long Wharf Park
in Cambridge, Maryland, where a 600-ft. wharf allowed ships to land from Africa
and the Caribbean. She was enslaved by Atthow Pattison who called her Modesty
Green. Asante means “warrior” and “undefeated and the name proved to be her
legacy. Her daughter “Rit” would become the mother of “Araminta,” “meaning the
protector,” who would be called “Minty” but would be known as Harriet. HarrietTubmanbyway.com
Harriet was born to Rit and Ben Ross, the 5th
of 9 children, on Anthony Thompson’s farm at Peter’s Neck. Ben, a prime
timberman, was enslaved by Thompson. Harriet and her mother were moved to the Brodess Farm when she was
very young and he sold 3 of her sisters who then disappeared.
The Bucktown Village Store still stands at
the crossroads on Bucktown Road. Harriet was sent to the store to purchase
goods in 1834. At the store she was confronted by a slave being chased by an
overseer who asked her to help subdue him. She refused. The overseer threw a
2-lb iron weight at the man, hitting Harriet in her head. The severe blow
caused her to have seizures, visions and headaches that she interpreted as divine inspiration for the remainder of her
life. The story is vividly related at the site with original items on view. www.bucktownstore.com
Cambridge’s
Dorchester County Courthouse played a significant role twice in Harriet’s life.
She hired a lawyer for $5.00 to check probate records for her freedom because
her mother was to have been freed at the age of 45 only to find that the
previous owner’s will had been ignored.
After her escape, in 1850, her niece Kessiah Bowley and her 2 children were to
be sold on the courthouse steps. Harriet arranged for her and the children to
escape to Philadelphia with the assistance of Kessiah’s husband.
Harriet was hired out from the age of 6 to various
owners. Her jobs allowed her to understand the terrain and interact with both the free and enslaved. From 1810-32
black individuals, both slave and free, hand dug the 7-mile Joseph Stewart’s
Canal to move timber and goods to neighboring areas. Harriet was known to leave
messages with a free black living near the canal.
The
Choptank River Heritage Center is situated in what was once known as Chesapeake
Station where “Black Jacks,” African American seamen, would dock. Abolitionists
of all races worked with mariners to facilitate UGRR escapes. The center does a
great job of relating their story. www.dentonmaryland.com
Blackwater
National Wildlife Refuge is the 28,000-mile “Everglades of the North.” It is a
stop on the Atlantic Flyway and the 4-mile drive teems with wildlife. The
area’s marshes were known to have been hiding places for freedom seekers and
still looks the same. www.fws.gov/refuge/blackwater
Water-powered
grist and sawmills operated at Linchester Mill from the 1680s-1979. This would have been a place where people
gathered and passed information. Tours of the mill are available and the
original equipment is on view.
In
1844 she wed John Tubman, a free black man who refused to escape with her. She
made her escape to Philadelphia in 1849 fearing she might be sold. She returned
for John in 1851 but found him remarried. By 1852 she had returned to free
people several times and the state of Maryland issued a $12,000 bounty and the
slave owners offered $40,000. One of her most daring rescues was that of her
parents in 1857 when Ben’s arrest for UGRR involvement was imminent. She made
her 19th trip in 1860 after emancipating an estimated 300
individuals.
The Seaford
Museum recounts the area’s history beginning with the Nanticoke Indians. There
are excellent exhibits on Black Jacks and Harriet Tubman’s 1856 Tilly Rescue.
The museum sponsors walking tours following the path of Tilly’s bold escape
with Harriet. www.seafordhistoricalsociety.com
The
$22 million, 10,000-sq. ft., Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and
Visitor Center is a 17-acre facility worthy of her legend. It recounts her life
and concentrates on her years on the Eastern Shore, blending film, sculpture,
dioramas, art and interpretive materials that place visitors at the scene. www.nps.gov/hatu/planyourvisit
During the Civil War Harriet
served as a cook, nurse, scout and led a spy mission at the request of the
governor of Massachusetts, in 1863. The information gained ultimately led to a
successful raid and the manumission of even more slaves. At war’s end, after a long battle, she was awarded a monthly
$20.00 pension based on her war service in 1889.
She continued to work for
women’s and civil rights until her death. She established a home for the
elderly and recent research indicates that she worked with abused women.
As she aged her brain injury
caused unrelenting pain and she underwent surgery in Boston’s Massachusetts
General Hospital, without anesthesia. In 1911 she was admitted to the home for
the elderly she had established and on March 10,
1913 she died of pneumonia. She was interred, with military honors, in Fort
Hill Cemetery in Albany, New York.
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