II NOWII!A S !)SOUTIIHarrietTubman
The most famous "conductor" on th e U nde r-
g rou nd Railro ad v....as a young b lack woman
namedH ar rietTubman. She w asbornin 1821 and
grewup asa slave 011 a plantationin Maryla nd.
In l R49sheescaped to Ph ilad elp h ia an djoined
th eUndergrou nd Railro ad. Although shecould
neithe r readnorwr-ite, Har rietTubmanhadgrear
abilitiesas an orga nize r.Overth e n exttenyears
shemadenineteentripsint o slavestatesand led
m or e than 300 men. wom en and children to
freedom.Onherearlytrip s she ledthcfugiti vesto
safety insuch northe rn citiesasN ew York and
Ph iladelphia, Whe n th e Fugitive Slave Aet of
185 0 mad e tho secitiesunsafe.sh e ledth e peop le in
her carl'toCanada.
Durin gth eCivil War Harri erTubma n worked as
a nur se.a coo kanda laundresswith the Unio n
ar miesfightingin theSouth.Itis also said rharshe
risked her life b y traveling behind C o n feder ate
lin esasa spy.
After th e C ivil War Harriet Tubman lived in
Auburn. New York. Here she worke d to help
ch ild ren and old people. using the p rofits she
earne d from her autobiography top ay for her
w o rk. When she died in 1913, she had alrea dy
becomea legend.49