Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony

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On Monday, revered abolitionist Harriet Tubman received a posthumous promotion to general, becoming the first woman to command an American military operation during a war. At the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Dorcester County, Maryland, dozens of people gathered on Veterans Day for a solemn ceremony that elevated Tubman to the rank of one-star brigadier general in the state’s National Guard.

Governor Wes Moore referred to the event as a “great day for the entire United States, not just for Tubman’s home state.” “We honor a soldier and someone who merited the title of veteran today,” Moore stated. “We honor one of the greatest writers of the American story today.” She founded the Underground Railroad network and guided other enslaved Black women and men to freedom with the goal of assisting others in achieving their own. She subsequently used those skills to help lead 150 Black soldiers on a naval raid in South Carolina during the Civil War while serving as a scout, spy, and medic for the Union Army.

According to Moore, if Tubman had stayed in Philadelphia and managed abolitionist activities from there, no one would have condemned her. Moore said, “She was aware that she would have to enter the lion’s den to complete the task.” “She was aware that being a leader requires you to be prepared to perform the tasks you ask others to perform.” Following the official order’s reading, Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece Tina Wyatt participated in a symbolic pinning ceremony.

Wyatt acknowledged that Veterans Day applied to her just as much as it did to any other service veteran and praised her aunt’s legacy of perseverance, kindness, and faith. According to Wyatt, “Aunt Harriet was one of those veterans who, informally, gave up any rights that she had won for herself in order to fight for others.” “She is a selfless individual.” Over the past few years, Tubman’s standing as a historical icon has only grown. A Black artist was selected by the city of Philadelphia to create a 14-foot (4.3-meter) bronze statue that will be on exhibit the following year.

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