Cold Open

It’s April 27th, 1860, outside a courthouse in Troy, New York.

On the courthouse steps, a quiet Black woman wearing a bonnet stands among a furious crowd. Half the people here back slavery. The other half are abolitionists. But the woman, Harriet Tubman, remains calm among the frenzy. Instead of joining in with the shouting and abuse, she watches the courthouse door patiently.

Harriet is waiting for a man named Charles Nalle. Born on a plantation in Virginia, Charles escaped slavery two years ago and traveled north. In the past, enslaved men and women who managed to cross into northern states were considered free. But thanks to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, now all escapees are considered outlaws for life, and northern states are obligated to return them to their enslavers. This is what is about to happen to Charles Nalle - unless Harriet can stop it.

The courthouse doors open, and Charles appears. He’s handcuffed and limped held between two stern police officers.

Immediately, the crowd surges forward.

The police officers strike out with their batons, forcing the crowd back. Then they muscle Charles down the stairs toward a carriage waiting to carry him back to Virginia. But as the officers pass Harriet, she makes her move.

In a flash she launches herself at one of the officers, sending him tumbling down the steps.

Following Harriet’s lead, the rest of the abolitionists rush in and wrestle the other officer to the ground. Harriet then jumps to her feet and grabs Charles. She pulls him through the abolitionist side of the crowd and they sprint away from the courthouse toward the nearby river.

There, a boat is waiting for them with two strong men ready at the oars. Harriet ushers Charles toward the boat.

And as he clambers aboard, Harriet glances behind her. The crowd of abolitionists are keeping the police and the pro-slavery mob away from the riverbank - for now. But she knows they don’t have much time. With her foot, she gives the boat a helping push.

The two men begin rowing toward the opposite bank of the river where Harriet has ensured that another wagon will be waiting there to carry Charles away from the police, away from the mob, and at last, to freedom.

In the 1860s, America is tumbling toward Civil War. At the heart of the deepening divide between the states is the issue of slavery. There is a growing abolitionist movement that seeks to end the cruel institution of slavery. And few among its ranks, are more famous in the North or more hated in the South than Harriet Tubman. She’s helped dozens of enslaved men and women, but her most important escape was her own when she first slipped the chains of servitude that had bound her all her life on September 17th, 1849.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is September 17th, 1849. Harriet Tubman Escapes From Slavery.

Act One: Freedom

It’s the middle of the night on September 17th, 1849, in Dorchester County, Maryland, 11 years before Harriet Tubman helps free Charles Nalle.

Harriet sneaks out of bed. A 27-year-old enslaved woman, Harriet is married to a free Black man named John, in whose cabin she is allowed to sleep. Every morning, though, she is expected to return to her enslaver’s plantation. But Harriet has no plans to return to the fields tomorrow. Because tonight, she intends to escape.

Harriet was born into slavery. She is one of nine children, who all work on a plantation growing corn, wheat, and rye. The women mostly work in the house, while the men toil in the fields. But ever since she was young, Harriet has hated housework. She is short in stature but incredibly strong and has insisted on working in the fields beside the men.

Still, Harriet has always hoped that one day she will be free. She grew up hearing the sounds of escape attempts outside the barn where she slept. She knew that when the overseers ran out of the house and into the night, accompanied by barking dogs that someone had fled the plantation. When she was thirteen, she even assisted in one of these attempts. A man working near her in the field suddenly ran and hid in a nearby store. Harriet followed him. And when the overseer came looking for him, Harriet stood in the doorway to block him - allowing the enslaved man to escape. In his fury though, the overseer struck Harriet with a lead weight, fracturing her skull. Harriet still bears the scar, but her injury has done nothing to dim her conviction that no one should be enslaved.

So stepping delicately out of bed tonight, Harriet tiptoes across the floor, dresses herself in her warmest clothes, and collects the only possession she plans to bring with her: a quilt. She knows that her husband, John, loves her, but Harriet hasn’t told him that she’s leaving. John would rather she remain in slavery than risk her life in an escape. But that’s a lot easier for him to say - as he’s already free.

So, outside the cabin, Harriet’s two brothers, Ben and Henry, are waiting for her. She greets them silently, and the three siblings then walk as quietly as they can across the cold, leaf-covered ground, past the main house and into the fields, and finally into the marshes which surround the plantation.

Maryland’s swamps are dark, dense, winding, and unforgiving. At night, they are almost impenetrable. But Harriet knows her way through the landscape like the back of her hand. Because of her refusal to do housework, as a girl, she was often sent into the marshes to check the plantation’s muskrat traps. She had to wade through the creeks in bare feet, even in the winter, to reach these contraptions, and as a result, she’s used to navigating the thick underbrush and muddy waterways.

It’s likely that no one will notice that three are gone until morning, by which time Harriet hopes they will be far away. Only several hours into their journey, though, Ben and Henry start to get nervous. They tell Harriet that they are afraid and they want to go back. In the cold darkness of the marsh, she tries to convince them to push forward, but they refuse. Harriet doesn’t want to go on alone, so she makes the heartbreaking decision to return to the plantation with her brothers.

Early that morning, Harriet, Ben, and Henry slip back into their beds. No one has noticed their absence. But Harriet does not forget that first taste of freedom, and as the weeks pass her resolve grows - especially when she hears a rumor that she may be sold to another plantation in the Deep South, where slaves are treated even more horrifically than they are in Maryland. She decides she has to escape - with or without her brothers. So, about a month after her first attempt, Harriet slips out of bed once again, sneaks across the same fields, and disappears into the marshes once more.

Harriet’s second escape attempt will prove successful. Following the North Star, she will eventually find the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses that those escaping slavery can follow on their way to freedom. Harriet will travel only by night, hiding in trees and bushes when necessary. Finally, she will reach Pennsylvania. But even as she steps across the state line, into freedom, she will be thinking about the people she left behind - her brothers and all the rest. And she will make a vow to return for them. To show them the way. To lead them along the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Act Two: Return Journeys

It’s December 1850, in a meeting house in Philadelphia, about a year after Harriet Tubman escaped slavery.

Harriet listens intently as a group of anti-slavery activists discuss an impending mission to the South. They’re planning a journey into Maryland to free a family from enslavers - and Harriet has realized she knows exactly who they are talking about. The family to be rescued are called the Bowleys, and John Bowley is the husband of Harriet’s niece Kessiah.

So, Harriet stands up and demands to be sent on the mission. The others in the room look at her skeptically, though. It’s a long and dangerous journey to the South and back, and no one seems to believe that the diminutive 28-year-old Harriet is up to it. But she knows what she’s really capable of and won’t be dismissed so easily. She explains that the mission is personal and that one way or another, she will be going with them.

Harriet loves her freedom in Philadelphia, where slavery is illegal, and there’s a community of free Black residents here. The city is unlike anything she's seen before. She grew up in rural Maryland on a plantation, so the buildings, packed streets, and bustling markets of Philadelphia are all new. But it’s impossible for Harriet to fully enjoy her life in the city while she knows that others like her family remain enslaved in the South. Ever since Harriet crossed into Pennsylvania, she's been intent on returning south to free other enslaved people. And that’s why Harriet has come to this meeting.

The Philadelphia Vigilance Committee is an abolitionist group that arranges rescues through the Underground Railroad. Harriet has been attending their meetings for weeks, hoping to be sent on one of their missions. So far she hasn’t been selected, but now that she's heard about her niece’s family, she is determined to play a part in the mission. Harriet pleads her case passionately - and eventually wins over the skeptics in the meeting house. The Committee agrees to let her join.

Soon afterward, Harriet ventures south. She meets her niece and her family at a safe house on the Underground Railroad. Harriet is delighted - her niece is the first family member she’s seen since her escape last year. John Bowley is a free man like Harriet’s husband. And to liberate his family, he broke them out of a slave auction and rowed them across the choppy waters of Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore.

But a dense wilderness still stands between the Bowley family and freedom. They’re all exhausted, but they can’t stay at the safe house long - they have to keep moving. So Harriet leads her niece Kessiah and the others north, traveling by night only using the light of the moon, until finally they arrive at the Pennsylvania border.

Emboldened by the success of this first rescue, Harriet soon makes another trip south. This time she frees her youngest brother from another plantation in northern Maryland. And by her third trip, Harriet is ready to venture all the way back to her former home.

Harriet’s husband, John, was opposed to her fleeing slavery, but Harriet still cares for him and misses him deeply. So, on this third journey south, Harriet heads straight to John’s cabin, hoping to convince him to leave Maryland and come live with her in Philadelphia. She approaches the cabin at night, disguised in men’s clothing. And at first, John doesn’t recognize her. But then Harriet speaks - she tells John she’s come to bring him north. But before she can finish her proposal, another woman joins John at the door of his cabin. John introduces her as his new wife and tells Harriet he won’t be moving to Philadelphia, or anywhere else. Heartbroken, Harriet leaves without saying another word.

Despite this disappointing ending to her third journey south, Harriet will not be deterred. She will stage at least ten more rescue missions to the South, risking capture and death every time. As the years pass, she will become known as “Moses,” because of her dedication to leading her people to freedom. But her name will also be cursed by slave hunters and plantation owners, who will offer a significant reward for her capture. But Harriet will always somehow escape danger. But when the American Civil War finally erupts in 1861, Harriet will put her luck to the ultimate test, when she offers to lend her skills to the Northern war effort and lead a unit of troops deep into the enemy territory she knows so well.

Act Three: Commander

It’s June 1st, 1863, aboard a gunship sailing down the Combahee River in South Carolina, fourteen years after Harriet Tubman escaped slavery.

The American Civil War is well underway. Harriet grips the railing as the gunship cuts through the still water. A Union officer standing beside her moves to speak, but Harriet quickly raises a finger, signaling him to stay quiet. She knows there could be Confederate soldiers or vigilantes nearby, and she wants to use stealth to their advantage.

For the past two years, Harriet has been serving as a spy for the Union Army, using her knowledge of the South to gather intelligence on foot. Now, though, she’s been given different orders. General David Hunter has asked Harriet to help lead a unit of troops downriver to liberate any enslaved people they encounter and lead them north to freedom. By accepting the mission, Harriet has become the first woman ever to lead troops in the history of the United States military.

So now, as the gunboat passes a plantation, Harriet calls out to the hundreds of enslaved workers in the fields and beckons them toward the riverbank. Worried an overseer will spot them, many are reluctant, but Harriet continues to wave. At first, only a few dare to drop their tools and come closer to hear what Harriet has to say. But then more and more gain the courage they need, and it’s not long before everyone is running toward the gunboat in a mad dash for freedom. Pleased with her success, Harriet orders her troops to row ashore in small boats and collect them. But her delight soon turns to dismay. The enslaved men, women, and children are clearly terrified that overseers or Confederate troops will appear at any moment and stop their mass escape. So, they begin to fight for space in the little boats, which soon look ready to capsize. Furthering Harriet’s horror, her Union troops respond to this chaos by striking out at the men and women with their oars, driving them back from the boats. What began as a rescue is turning into a disaster. Helpless, Harriet intervenes the only way she can think of: by beginning to sing.

Her clear and powerful voice echoes across the water and hearing it, the fervent crowd grows calm. She implores everyone to wait their turn patiently, and, this time, they do. 750 people lining up carefully and boarding boats on their way to freedom.

After this mission, Harriet will continue to serve as a spy and a nurse in the Union Army until the end of the war, when the 13th Amendment will then officially end slavery in the United States. But Harriet will realize that more work will remain to be done in the name of freedom and equality. For the rest of her life, Harriet will labor tirelessly for civil rights in America. And by the time she dies in 1913, at the age of ninety, Harriet will be almost penniless, having spent all she had for the fight for equality. For Harriet Tubman, justice was a lifelong mission, one that began the day she first made a bid for freedom on September 17th, 1849.  

Outro

Next on History Daily. September 18th, 96 CE. The assassination of a tyrant leads to a new dynasty taking charge of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the rule of the “Five Good Emperors.”

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Owen Long.

Edited by Dorian Merina.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.