The mission was dangerous.
Union forces needed to move through waters where Confederate forces had placed obstacles and mines.
Tubman’s intelligence and knowledge of the area helped the Union boats navigate the river.
And then something extraordinary happened.
Enslaved people living on nearby plantations saw the Union boats arriving.
They began running toward freedom.
More than 700 enslaved people were liberated during the raid.
Can you imagine that scene?
People running toward the boats.
Mothers carrying children.
Families trying to escape before Confederate forces could stop them.
People who had spent their lives being told they belonged to someone else suddenly seeing a chance to become free.
And Harriet Tubman was there.
She wasn’t watching history happen from a safe distance.
She was inside it.
The raid became one of the most important achievements of her Civil War service.
The National Park Service describes Tubman as the first woman to lead an armed raid in U.S. military history, while historical accounts note that she worked alongside Colonel Montgomery and Black Union troops during the operation.
More than 700 people were freed.
Some of the men who escaped that day later joined the Union Army.
The raid also damaged Confederate economic resources by destroying plantations and other property that supported the Confederate war effort.
