Harriet Tubman posthumously honored as general in Veterans Day ceremony: 'Long overdue'

Abolitionist and Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman, the first woman in the U.S. to lead an armed military operation during a war, was posthumously commissioned as a one-star general in the Maryland National Guard on Monday.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, along with members of the state's National Guard, and Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead awarded Tubman the rank of brigadier general during a Veterans Day ceremony, according to the governor's office. During the ceremony, the Maryland National Guard and Moore officially recognized Tubman for her military service to the U.S. and Maryland.

The commemoration, held at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, was attended by dozens of people including Tubman's descendants, military members, community members, and local leaders. Birckhead said the occasion was "long overdue," noting that it was due to a state law passed earlier this year that authorizes the governor to make certain posthumous awards.

"Harriet Tubman should be revered always for risking her life and her own freedom and the cause of justice for the enslaved," Birckhead said at the ceremony. "Now we make the grassroots honor, in a formal way, to proclaim that Harriet Tubman was courageous, she sacrificed, she's a skillful leader and she advanced the survival of a nation."

Moore called Monday's ceremony not just a "great day" for Maryland but for the entire U.S.

Tubman, who was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, had escaped in 1849 to Philadelphia — where she lived as a free woman. But Tubman later returned to Maryland several times to rescue her family and other enslaved people through the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes and safe houses organized by Black and white abolitionists.

"There is nobody who defined 'leave no one behind' in the way that Gen. Tubman left no one behind," Moore said during the ceremony. "No one would have judged her if she helped to coordinate the entire abolitionist cause and the entire abolitionist movement from Philadelphia ... But she knew that in order to do the work, that meant that she had to go into the lion's den."

The commissioning proclamation was received by Tubman's great-great-great-grandniece, Ernestine "Tina" Martin Wyatt, who underscored Tubman's legacy and paralleled her to veterans.

"Aunt Harriet was one of those veterans informally," Wyatt said at the ceremony. "She gave up any rights that she had obtained for herself to be able to fight for others."

Who was Harriet Tubman?

Tubman was born Araminta "Minty" Ross in March 1822, according to the National Women's History Museum. She was one of nine children, who along with their parents, were enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland.

Tubman began working in the field harvesting flax at around the age of 13 and escaped when she was around 27 years old. After she escaped, Tubman dedicated her life to the abolition of slavery, according to the National Women's History Museum.

Tubman returned to Maryland at least 13 times to rescue as many as 70 enslaved people through the Underground Railroad. If she had been caught, she would've faced physical punishment and been sold back into slavery in the Deep South due to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law.

"Deeply admired by abolitionists in the North, Tubman became a trusted friend and advisor to many, which earned her a role in the Union Army as a scout, spy, nurse, and confidante of generals," according to the Harriet Tubman Byway website.

The U.S. Army and historians have credited Tubman as the first woman to "lead a combat regiment when she spearheaded a Union Army raid during the Civil War."

After the Civil War, Tubman became involved in the campaign for women's suffrage along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, according to the National Parks Service.

She purchased a home in Auburn, New York, in 1859 and established a home for the elderly. She died there in 1913 and was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery.

Latest effort to honor abolitionist hero

Tubman has long been noted as an icon in American history. Several national parks, monuments, and historical sites have been established across the U.S. in honor of her legacy.

Numerous schools have also been named after Tubman, including in 2022 when an elementary school in Chicago was renamed after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that 30 schools in the area were named after people with racist views and slaveholders.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Mint began selling coins — $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar coins — to commemorate Tubman.

The commemorative coins came about 10 years after former President Barack Obama proposed to place Tubman on the $20 bill. The decision was then stalled under the Trump administration.

Contributing: Minnah Arshad and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY