This text is part of the Teaching Hard History Text Library and aligns with Key Concepts 5 and Essential Knowledge 15.   

“Shh … don’t make a sound,” Elizabeth’s mom whispered, holding her finger to her lips.

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth crouched closer to the earth and pulled her knees in tighter. She and her mom and six younger siblings were hiding with a few other people from their plantation. Elizabeth had been dead asleep earlier when her mom tapped her awake and told her to gather her things (one dress and an old shirt) and said they must hurry. Now they sat huddled together, so close to the Combahee River that Elizabeth could hear the water rushing past and prayed it would cover any sound they made. 

After a while, they heard cannon fire in the distance. With every loud boom, the grownups jumped, and the babies cried. Through the trees, Elizabeth could see a house burning.  

Any minute now, someone would come. 

This was Elizabeth’s first time off the plantation, so freedom was only a far-away idea, a word she sometimes heard grownups using late at night after long days in the field. Elizabeth wondered what the place called Freedom might be like. Were the trees taller? 

She remembered hearing the grownups say a name: Harriet Tubman, Moses herself. Years ago, she was enslaved, too. But then she escaped. Now she helped others escape. She was Elizabeth’s hero. 

Elizabeth didn’t understand everything her mom had whispered earlier, but she knew enough to feel hope. Enslaved people along the river had shared important information with Harriet that would help the Union soldiers win the war, and now she was coming to free them and many others. 

Elizabeth was wiping her little brother’s eyes with her skirt when she heard muffled footsteps. Lots of them. Suddenly they were surrounded by at least a dozen soldiers, all wearing dark blue uniforms and carrying guns. Elizabeth had never seen a soldier before, and she hid her face behind her mom, trying to stop herself from shaking. But then she heard a soft, firm voice say, “It’s OK, child. We are here to take you to freedom.” 

Elizabeth looked up and right into the eyes of a small, strong woman. The woman wore a long brown dress, and her hair was hidden under a brown scarf. She was hard to see, but Elizabeth knew exactly who she was. 

“I’m Harriet Tubman, and I need you to follow us,” the woman said, grabbing Elizabeth’s hand and helping her up.  

Mrs. Tubman’s warm hand and steady voice made Elizabeth’s heart and body stop shaking. She scooped up her youngest sister and followed the rest of the group along the riverbank. 

Elizabeth saw a huge shape rise out of the darkness in front of her—a boat. More soldiers greeted them and helped each person climb on board. When Elizabeth stepped onto the boat, it swayed beneath her feet like a cradle. She counted to be sure all of her siblings had followed her. They were all there, and their mother was, too. 

Mrs. Tubman and the soldiers boarded the boat, too. And in the light from the fires in the woods and the moon in the sky, Elizabeth saw them: dozens of people, old and young alike, together on their way to freedom. 

They traveled on the river all night, picking up other families and blasting cannons along the way. Elizabeth watched over her siblings, but also kept a careful eye on Mrs. Tubman. Excitement and courage surged through her heart like the river that raged beneath the boat. She hoped that someday, she, too, could help lead others to freedom.