Harriet Tubman Honored with Title of General

At the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland the Civil War hero was honored, more than 100 years after her death in 1913, in a ceremony awarding her the title of brigadier general. This rank comes 150 years after she courageously escaped slavery and went on to help hundreds of enslaved people escape to freedom. This posthumous honor was announced and given by Governor Wes Moore who called Tubman “one of the greatest authors of the American story.”

On Veteran’s Day 2024 the ceremony to honor Tubman was attended by officials, community leaders, historians and the press, as well as descendants of Harriet Tubman. Tubman risked her life again and again using the Underground Railroad network of covert helpers, secret routes, and safe houses to bring people to safety in smaller numbers over many trips. She also led soldiers in military actions, and helped to scout and execute the Combahee River Raid where Union forces were able to free some 700 enslaved peoples during the now-famous nighttime raid.

Tubman was born in Maryland around 1822. Owing to a brain injury from an violent slaveholder as a teenager, Tubman suffered from seizures the rest of her life.
Yet she continued to help others to freedom as a conductor for the Underground Railroad. Following her escape from slavery in 1849, Tubman helped huge numbers of enslaved people to also gain their freedom.

She described Pennsylvania when she first arrived following her escape as filled with light and hope, “the sun came like gold through the trees.” She questioned if she had changed, “When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.” However blissful her escape to freedom after much duress, she chose to go back time and again to help others flee as well. Gov. Moore commented during the ceremony that no one would have blamed her if she had wanted to stay in Philadelphia with her newfound freedom.

She also served as a spy, nurse, cook, and organizer for the Union Army. In light of her many accomplishments and her military services the honor of Brigadier General is a fitting one. It is believed that Tubman was one of the first women to ever lead a group of soldiers in the US Army. As Gov. Moore pointed out during the ceremony she has earned the title of veteran.

The symbolic star pin and sash was placed on Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece, Tina Wyatt during the ceremony, which also included a flyover from the Maryland Air National Guard.

This is not her only posthumous honor. For many years an effort to replace Andrew Jackson with Tubman’s portrait on the $20 has been ongoing. While it remains to be seen if that will ever happen, Tubman has been featured on 3 new commemorative coins from the US Mint, with proceeds going to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home.