Event Details:

Harriet Tubman's legendary life is widely known, but a crucial chapter often overlooked is her daring Civil War service as a spy for the U.S. Army. Dr. Edda Fields-Black will discuss her book "COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War," which won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and the 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.

Fields-Black is a direct descendant of a soldier who fought in the raid. In her book, she unveils Tubman's command of spies, scouts, and pilots and intelligence gathering among freedom seekers, which led to a raid that liberated 756 enslaved people from bondage on seven rice plantations. It was the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history. Through unexamined documents, she brings to life the Combahee River Raid and the untold stories of those freed, their resilience, and the lasting impact of Tubman's heroism.