The Underground Railroad
Harriet married a free man named John Tubman, although her marriage had no legal standing because she was a slave. When Harriet’s master died, she fled north to freedom without her husband, who was not interested in joining her. She escaped alone at night using the hidden network of abolitionist way stations called the Underground Railroad as she traveled through Maryland and Delaware and finally reached Philadelphia. Saddened by the news of her husband’s remarriage, Tubman dedicated herself to freeing her family and friends and returned to Maryland numerous times to rescue many people through the Underground Railroad (Larson, 2014). “They traveled at night along back roads and waterways…Tubman would pull a gun on anyone who threatened to back out” (Eversley, 2013, p. 3a). During the day, they would hide wherever they could, “listening for the sounds of horses’ hooves and voices of vengeful white men, taking turns napping, waiting for darkness to fall (Lowry, 2007, p. 219). They were disguised and moved from one safe house to the next through all available means, including boats, trains, carts, wagons and on foot along secret trails and unmarked paths. Nineteen times she made the treacherous round trip from the south to the north, guiding a total of 300 slaves to freedom and never losing a single soul (Chism, 2005).
Harriet married a free man named John Tubman, although her marriage had no legal standing because she was a slave. When Harriet’s master died, she fled north to freedom without her husband, who was not interested in joining her. She escaped alone at night using the hidden network of abolitionist way stations called the Underground Railroad as she traveled through Maryland and Delaware and finally reached Philadelphia. Saddened by the news of her husband’s remarriage, Tubman dedicated herself to freeing her family and friends and returned to Maryland numerous times to rescue many people through the Underground Railroad (Larson, 2014). “They traveled at night along back roads and waterways…Tubman would pull a gun on anyone who threatened to back out” (Eversley, 2013, p. 3a). During the day, they would hide wherever they could, “listening for the sounds of horses’ hooves and voices of vengeful white men, taking turns napping, waiting for darkness to fall (Lowry, 2007, p. 219). They were disguised and moved from one safe house to the next through all available means, including boats, trains, carts, wagons and on foot along secret trails and unmarked paths. Nineteen times she made the treacherous round trip from the south to the north, guiding a total of 300 slaves to freedom and never losing a single soul (Chism, 2005).