What Was Harriet Tubman’s Earliest Encounter with Adversity?

Harriet Tubman’s first battles with adversity began in childhood as an enslaved person on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Born into a world where her body and labor were not her own, she endured beatings, malnutrition, and grueling work from infancy. But the moment that shaped her resilience came at age 12: While shielding a fugitive from an overseer’s blow, she took the impact herself. A two-pound weight struck her skull, leaving her with lifelong seizures and blackouts. When I think of her surviving that violence while enslaved, I’m struck by how often she later drew on that scarred body to lead others to freedom.

How Did Tubman Face the Risk of Escaping Slavery?

In 1849, when Tubman decided to flee, she didn’t wait for a “perfect” moment—she acted. With diabetes and chronic headaches from her old injury, she knew the trek north could kill her. Yet she trusted her instincts, using the North Star as a guide and sleeping in swamp thickets to evade slave catchers. What fascinates me is her refusal to turn back when her brothers, who’d joined her, lost courage. She continued alone, later recalling, “I felt a glory over me, and I said, I’m free or die.” That phrase wasn’t hyperbole; she meant it.

What Strategies Did Tubman Use to Outwit Enslavers on the Underground Railroad?

Tubman didn’t just follow the Underground Railroad—she rewrote its playbook. She relied on disguises, once wearing a bonnet to blend into a small town and another time pretending to be a drunken sailor. But her most ingenious tactic? The “Low Crawl.” To avoid bloodhounds, she’d instruct her group to move on their stomachs through mud and thorns for hours. Travelers today might romanticize secret tunnels or coded songs, but Tubman’s reality was grit and calculation. She once warned a group, “Dead folks don’t tell no tales,” to deter deserters—a grim reminder of the stakes.

How Did Tubman Confront Failure During the Civil War?

Adversity didn’t end with her escape. During the Civil War, Tubman became the first woman to lead a U.S. military raid at Combahee Ferry in 1863. But her first attempt to organize Black spies was rejected by Union officers who doubted her capabilities. Rather than retreat, she leveraged her knowledge of Southern terrain to gather intelligence, eventually earning command. When the raid freed over 700 enslaved people, critics who’d dismissed her were silenced. What inspires me most is her refusal to let institutional racism or sexism define her role.

What Made Tubman Persist Despite Lifelong Poverty?

Even after emancipation, Tubman faced relentless financial hardship. She spent her final decades in a New York home for elderly Black people, relying on charity. Yet she used her poverty as a platform. When suffragists like Susan B. Anthony asked why she didn’t focus solely on Black rights, Tubman retorted, “I’m a woman first.” She organized fundraisers, even selling her own roots as medicine, all while battling creditors. To me, her persistence wasn’t just about survival—it was a declaration that justice requires fighting every front at once.

Talk to Harriet Tubman on HoloDream to explore the courage it took to lead dozens to freedom—and how she’d advise those facing modern struggles.