Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raid
She was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war
What happened
Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was posthumously awarded the rank of brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard Monday, 161 years after she became the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war. In that June 1863 raid, Tubman used intelligence she had gathered to direct three Union Army steamboats up the Combahee River in Confederate-held South Carolina, liberating more than 750 enslaved people.
Who said what
"Today we celebrate one of the greatest authors of the American story," a "soldier and a person who earned the title of veteran," Gov. Wes Moore (D) said at a Veterans Day ceremony at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland's Eastern Shore. "Maryland's own, Gen. Harriet Tubman."
Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849, used skills she had honed liberating more than 70 other enslaved Black people in her subsequent work "as a scout, spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War," The Associated Press said. Her "military service isn't a familiar part of Tubman's legacy for most Americans," The Washington Post said, but the fact she was "often dismissed, underestimated and ignored" is what "made her such an effective spy and scout" and also explains why "it took our nation 160 years to honor her properly for her military service."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Tubman's "status as an icon of history has only been further elevated within the last few years," the AP said, but decade-old "plans to put Tubman on the $20 bill have continued to stall."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Earth's magnetic North Pole is shifting toward Russia
Under the radar The pole is on the move
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Four invigorating paths for solo travelers to take in 2025
The Week Recommends New year, new opportunities to see the world on your own terms
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Pam Bondi, Trump's new pick for attorney general
In The Spotlight Bondi was selected after Trump's first pick, Matt Gaetz, removed himself from contention
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sudan's forgotten pyramids
Under the Radar Brutal civil war and widespread looting threatens African nation's ancient heritage
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Stonehenge: a transformative discovery
Talking Point Neolithic people travelled much further afield than previously thought to choose the famous landmark's central altar stone
By The Week UK Published
-
Haredim: Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews now facing conscription
The Explainer Religious community pays few taxes, receives vast subsidies and has avoided military service, provoking ire of wider society
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Namibia grapples with legacy of genocide on Shark Island
Under the radar A non-profit research agency believes it has located sites of unmarked graves of prisoners
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
A history of student protest at Columbia University
The Explainer Anti-Israel demonstrations at NYC's Ivy League university echo protests against Vietnam War and South African apartheid
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Edinburgh Castle and Scotland's redcoats reckoning
Talking Point Almost 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for the castle's Redcoat Cafe to be renamed
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's fraught relationship with Russia: a brief history
In Depth Russia and Ukraine are bound together by history and geography, but Putin sees danger in that symbiosis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published