What Was She Like?

• Appearance--She was short of stature, with a modest frame that hid her incredible physical strength. She had cut and hauled timbers as a youth and worked side-by-side with the men. Her physical and mental strength were such that her friend John Brown, who led the raid on Harper's Ferry, called her "General Tubman." Her eyes were piercing and direct, set beneath dark brows on a rounded face. In photographs of Harriet her mouth neither smiles nor frowns, but is set as though her emotions are hidden deep within by years of harsh experience. She is watching you from the photograph, and the more you study her face, it is no longer you looking, but rather her seeing deep within you and knowing who you really are.

• Determination--She was willing to do whatever it took to bring her fugitive charges to freedom. More than once a member of one of her escape parties became faint hearted and wanted to quit. This is when Harriet took her pistol, and pointing it with deadly aim, gave the would-be quitter a choice of going on or ending it. For a fugitive to be caught, and perhaps tortured, and to talk would mean that houses of safety on the Underground Railroad and individuals who helped the runaways would be revealed, and this could not be allowed. Harriet in her determination knew the price of freedom.

• Sleep--As a youth Harriet had received a severe head wound from a weight thrown at her by a slavemaster. This caused her to lapse into sleep, often at inopportune times. The condition continued into old age, and perhaps became worse.

• Soldier--Harriet had the cold steel nerves of a soldier and scout. In the summer of 1863, during the war, Harriet led a major raid into enemy territory. The purpose was to bring out slaves and destroy supplies that could support the war. She had run a number of scouting trips into the area before the raid, using the skills she learned on the Underground Railroad. Her bravery was beyond question. She assembled and led a boatload of slaves back to her own lines.

• Care-giver--Harriet had the gifts of a nurse and healer. During the war, Harriet served at a number of field hospitals. In Florida, where both whites and blacks were dying at an alarming rate, she made a medicine from roots that she gathered locally. There were soldiers with smallpox and other deadly diseases, but she cared for them regardless, and she never got any of the diseases herself. After the war, until her death in early 1913, Harriet worked for the poor, the disadvantaged and the aged among African-Americans. Many came to her door, and always she helped as she was able.