Qualla: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: Introduction

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Keith Lanser - User: (WT-shared) Lanskeith17 at wts wikivoyage, Public domain. In the tidewater marshes of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1822. She labored in these fields and forests until her escape in 1849. Then she did something unprecedented: she came back. Over the next decade, Tubman returned to Maryland's Eastern Shore at least 13 times, leading approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad. She used the landscape she knew intimately - waterways for navigation, forests for cover, safe houses maintained by free Blacks and white abolitionists. Today, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park preserves the landscape of her heroism: the fields where she worked, the routes she traveled, and the communities that aided her mission. The landscape that made her a slave also made her a conductor.

Image: Keith Lanser - User: (WT-shared) Lanskeith17 at wts wikivoyage | Public domain

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: The Bondage

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit See below, CC BY-SA 3.0. Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross around 1822 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was one of nine children, all born into slavery. From childhood, she worked - first as a nursemaid, then as a field hand. Around age 12, a white overseer threw a metal weight tha...

Image: See below | CC BY-SA 3.0

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: The Rescues

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0. Between 1850 and 1860, Tubman made at least 13 trips back to Maryland's Eastern Shore, rescuing approximately 70 enslaved people including her elderly parents. She operated in winter when long nights provided cover. She used the North Star for navigation, traveled by night, and h...

Image: Mikerussell | CC BY-SA 3.0

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: The Network

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jc8025, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Underground Railroad wasn't a railroad and wasn't underground - it was a network of safe houses, routes, and people who helped the enslaved escape to freedom. On Maryland's Eastern Shore, the network included free Black communities, sympathetic Quakers, and hidden routes thro...

Image: Jc8025 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: The Legacy

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lvklock, CC BY-SA 4.0. Tubman's life after the rescue missions was equally remarkable. During the Civil War, she served as a scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army. She led the Combahee River Raid in 1863, freeing over 700 enslaved people - the only woman to lead an armed assault during the war. Afte...

Image: Lvklock | CC BY-SA 4.0

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad: Visiting the Harriet Tubman Sites

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NPS Photo, Public domain. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park is located in Church Creek, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. The visitor center offers exhibits, films, and guided programs. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway connects historic sites across 125 miles of Dorch...

Image: NPS Photo | Public domain