Reverend Paul Carter , who has led tours of Harriet Tubman ’s longtime home in Auburn , New York , for more than 25 years , is often start by how small people know of this enslaved womanhood turnedUnderground Railroadguide and Civil War spy . He and the property ’s president and CEO , Karen Hill , are happy to educate people about Tubman’sremarkable life . Carter leads visitant through part of the property Tubman own for five X , which is now part of thenational parksystem . “ We utterly think she is one of the all - time bang-up Americans , ” Hill told Mental Floss in 2016 . Here are nine fact Carter and Hill contribution that tend to bedaze visitant .
1. She wasn’t born Harriet Tubman.
Not even close . Harriet Tubman ’s birth name was Araminta Ross , and her family called her “ Minty ” as a child . She change her name to Harriet , in honor of her mother , when she was a adolescent .
2. Tubman persevered despite significant health issues.
A weight thrown at another enslaved person hit Tubman in the head when she was young . She nigh exit , and for the rest of her spirit she suffered from worry , seizures , and visual sense . She take in charge journeys of hundreds and thousands of miles despite deep physical limitation .
3. She rescued her own family.
After making her own escape from enslavement , Tubman began her study as an Underground Railroad guide by going back to Maryland ’s Eastern Shore as many as 13 metre for her mob and friends . Ultimately , she moderate more than 70 mass to safety , many to St. Catharines , Ontario .
4. Tubman wasn’t very tall.
Though she had a repute for being emphatic — she was said to imperil people who baulk along the route to exemption with a grease-gun — Tubman was tiny , remain firm just under 5 feet .
5. She outlived her husbands.
While she was operate conducting along the Underground Railroad , her married man , John Tubman , took another wife . After he died , she also remarried . Her 2nd husband , Nelson Davis , was much younger — at least 24 year — but he , too , predecease her by many years .
6. Tubman was the first woman to lead a U.S. military raid.
Tubman was given $ 200 for three years as a James Cook , nanny , scout , and spy for the Union Army during the Civil War . Her inspection and repair includedleading a raidthat resign 750 enslaved people in South Carolina — making her the first woman to take an armed raid in enemy territory in the United States , according to Hill .
7. Tubman got some help from powerful friends—like William Seward.
She developed a friendship with one of the most powerful adult male of the time , William Seward , who later served as Lincoln ’s secretary of state . It was his house in Auburn that she buy as her family abode , for a very reasonable price , in 1859 .
8. Tubman never stopped serving others.
When the war was over , her unselfishness did n’t stop . Tubman pushed tirelessly for women ’s vote . And though she always struggled financially , she was a womanhood of mysterious religious belief who partake what little she had , donating a piece of her belongings as a home plate for senior Black Americans . She wind up live there during her own later old age , too .
9. Tubman lived an extremely long life for her time.
Tubmandied in 1913 , when she was around 91 years sometime ( she is believed to have been born in about 1822 ) , which means she lived an surprisingly long animation for the prison term point , especially considering the forcible strains she ’d endured .
A translation of this fib ran in 2016 ; it has been update for 2023 .
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