Event Detail

On June 1, 1863, under cover of darkness three federal gunboats steamed up the Combahee River in South Carolina. This was the beginning of a daring combat raid…led by Harriet Tubman! As Harriet Tubman guided “Lincoln’s gun-boats” up the Combahee River, she added combat pioneer to the other important roles she played during the Civil War: Union nurse, scout, and spy. How did Tubman become the first woman to lead a major military operation in the United States? Join Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black to discover the significance of the attack and how Tubman used her knowledge of the terrain, strategic thinking, and bravery to execute a mission that led to the liberation of more than 700 enslaved people and the destruction of sprawling Confederate rice plantations. Fields-Black has delivered the first deeply detailed account of this important event in her book COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War, which was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History. Fields-Black brings an especially unique look at this incredible military operation as a descendent of the enslaved men and women who fought in the raid and in the process liberated themselves. Visit www.spymuseum.org.