Despite Harriet Tubman’s notoriety as a guide for the Underground Railroad, few know of her extraordinary accomplishments as a spy during the Civil War. Hired by the Union Army, she ventured into the heart of slave territory – Beaufort, South Carolina – to live, work, and gather intelligence for a daring raid up the Combahee River to attack the major plantations of Rice Country, the breadbasket of the Confederacy. In her 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Edda L. Fields-Black – a descendent of one of the participants in the raid – uses previously unexamined documents to bring to life the story of enslaved individuals and communities forced to work in South Carolina during the antebellum period. She is a Professor of History and Director of Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie-Mellon University.
This program will be hosted in-person at the League House. Registration is required. Signed books will be sold at the reception.
Reception: 6:00pm
Program: 6:30pm
End of Program: 7:30pm
Streaming: Unless requested otherwise by the speaker, Founding Forward programs are streamed via YouTube. Click here to find the livestream (live at 6:30pm the day of the event). At the speaker’s request, a recording of the event will not be available after the event. Virtual viewing does not require registration.
Speaker:
Founding Forward’s Civil War Round Tables provides programs (primarily lectures) about the American Civil War. This includes the political, social, and military aspects of the war, with a focus on Philadelphia and the Union League’s important role in the war.
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