Check out the exchanged website. For any members we think you for your ongoing support. We are very pleased to walk up to that smithsonian elizabeth cobb. The author of eight books including the nonfiction the newest novel is available for sale. Its available outside the lecture hall. I know we are all in for a fascinating talk this evening. I am really honored to be here i cant think of any better place to launch a novel like this here in washington dc. Thank you so much for being a part of my first audience. To talk about Harriet Tubman. Im really very honored we begin with the mistry that we all love mysteries. On june 1, 1863. Two u. S. Gunships crash up a river in South Carolina. In a river that started with under water mines. The river leads deep into that part of america is that is known as enemy territory. 300 uniformed African American men in a small handful of white officers that were led by colonel he once who once rode with john brown. They are creeping half of which is struggling to keep them in chains. Half of which is struggling to make them free the question and mistry is why did they pick this target. Why did they go this night why did they go this route. Why were 300 brandnew soldiers able to triumph over confederate strongholds that had 2000 soldiers 10 miles away. Who was guiding them. The former conductor on the underground Railroad Many historians believe was at the scene even though nowhere in the military record does it say that he was at the right hand of colonel James Montgomery. One history and at least has raised very legitimate questions. Harriet tubman might have stuck out like a sore thumb. How could he have infiltrated behind lines. A place she didnt know well. Most enslaved people were there which he would have understood. So are we seen in the evidence that we have and im speaking to you now as a historian not a novelist we will get into that. Are we seen in this evidence what we want to see. Which is the single most heroic female patriot in American History. Who was Harriet Tubman in the civil war. Was she a nurse in a washerwoman Union Soldiers or was she a scout a spy and ultimately a veteran. Today i want to sketch the scene and tell you what you all forgot about the civil war. It is a good metaphor in this case. And i want to ask you after i had sketched out the scene and laid out the evidence i want you to draw about the famous river raid. Thats how i started out when i started this research not quite knowing that terrain myself. Helping in the novel it will bring to life i want to say a few words about why i had applied the techniques is a curious problem in a probably often had when writing about our history. They did not go around writing things about. I didnt read about the in the book so it must not have happened. We tend not to believe the evidence. Were not in advance of the slides here. It is a ship very similar to the kinds we can see the American Flags flying from the bell. This is because what they call selective attention. The brains are trying to focus all the time. We tend to ignore stuff that doesnt fit with their assumptions about what is important and thats kind of peripheral to our brains. Our assumptions about reality. We will see this picture twice. A very famous photograph. Recently found. I found its not just applicable. It was about the first woman soldiers. They have this odd situation that they has you see them pictured here. They were recruited by the American Army to go abroad in france. They collected those television dash mike telephone calls. They stood in the front lines. At the end of the war that we have now video footage had been published by released by national archives. The army forgot that they had been there. That they werent actually veteran it took them six years to get military recognition. Its a problem that we tend to have which is that we sort of forget about people we think were important at the time. And we assume that they were not. The problem with. Yet tubman. They have photographic evidence. But Harriet Tubman there is no film footage. What we have to do is the evidence is never to become complete. You have to reason our way through the evidence that we have and come up with our best guess and the president trumans request. His advisors said why do you want to one up the economist. On the one hand and on the other hand. It is frustrating. I went to tell you on the other hand. The evidence you have. This is why i plied fiction. It allows us to imagine with a bounty on her head. They convince a group of highly educated white men to take her advice. It shows you a picture of south fortners house. Their own fight. It is in charleston. South carolina was the hot bed of the first plan were laid in South Carolina. And it became the first state to secede from the union. Following in the 1816 election of abraham lincoln. This is what really initiated at the battle. But the war went on for a long time. It went on for four years and for the first two years it seemed not particularly likely that the union would prevail the north would win. Hundreds of thousands would die. Part of the reason for this is the south is a big place. The 11 states of the confederacy our bigger than all of europe. The european did not think that was can happen. In fact we were busily supply and both sides. They were taking a position on this. Especially since the north have not taken a position on it. It wasnt about slavery. To keep it from being supplied by the rest of the world. I know some of you remember that. Just to know you know that in your memory. British and french and other people were running the blockade. They came up with what is been being called the anaconda plan. To water your ships and repair your ships. A place in which to launch outwards. A place for them to be protected as they go out and back on various attacks. The navy rather decided upon trying to get a piece of the islands of South Carolina. Right south of the coastline near charleston down there called the sea islands. So close to the shore. I will cease to be in may. I did not know i was on an island. I thought i was supposed to be on an another island by now. A short little bridge. You dont feel like youre really crossing over much. These become the base. For launching expedition hopefully to retake that. But to have a safe place for the squadron. Early in the more november of 1861. The Navy Launches an attack on Port Royal Island and if the main town of buford. This slide depicts that bombardment which is undertaken now either way. They got in a day. They quickly overtook the island. And then they found themselves around their for the next four years they could get out and back by c but it was another four years before charleston could be successfully taken by union troops. They were there for quite a long time. I use and i just said a couple of times north versus south we have to remember that this was a struggle not as much between north and south but the tween the meaning of america had that battle was this man he was one of the captives this man was from charleston. Im sure was his brother thomas straightened who was in charge of the confederate defenses. I can think of hardly any more classic examples than those. What happens with Harriet Tubman. When the union the victory accidentally 10,000 countryman is a term in the type of work you can see the properties. They use those properties to make war against you. The north have no laws against that. A way that they took this property was to declare than contraband. 10,000 people on the sea islands and that were liberated in that way. Many photographs that you can look up about what was called the port royal experiments. Any help we hope to make that transition. The man in charge of that expedition in that project and that project was named david hunter. The have of what was called the department of the south. It was his job to figure out what was to do with all these people how to secure the island which is so close to the mainline i think you could throw a baseball if you have a better arm than me and you could hit someone on the other side. He wanted to liberate these people but he also wanted to put some of them the men and uniform. He wanted to protect this island. It can be easily overrun and there were many that were threatened. He was stymied by the fact that lincoln was reluctant a up putting blackman into uniform and giving them guns. That was the first problem to be solved. These people had spent their whole lives there. They were altogether clear that just as they were contraband what was that the 13h amendment wasnt passed until the end of the war. The treaty Port Royal Island. You see them in uniforms this is when the competition has been read out. Even that is not a very clear guarantee. First of all it only applies to those states that had approached the union. This means that her family the remnants were still there are still not free. There was a challenge to some extent in recruiting men. Special permission from lincoln. Obviously you have to hold the iron season form a regimen. That begins the process. This is where we counter the story of Harriet Tubman. This large civilian population in addition to the men who were on this island, obviously you saw the photographs. Large civilian population. Either from other islands or people were signing their way to the shores onto for loyal. There were refugees. One of this is the influx of missionaries. Missionaries and abolitionists who go out and feel empowered to south and figure out how we can help people who spent the whole life being inside, to make this experiment succeed. Harriet tubman was one of the earliest to ride. This was a wood engraving part, she later described what went on there so this is one that she would have seen in her lifetime and it was her wearing the coat of the union shoulder and wearing the rifle in the background. An interesting thing about, to know about Harriet Tubman and how she gets there is that shes recommended, shes something by the massachusetts governor, john injures. And john recommends she be center at government expense to help david hunter. He writes 200 that harry top and is a very valuable woman. She was mostly a nurse, it doesnt seem likely the governor would have had her at the extent of the government. Or that he was singling her out in particular. Im just saying. It takes something for a government to write a general center. What the she going to do that . s thats one clue, thats a clue, not a fact. All they know was he wrote a letter. We dont know what it really was. Another thing to contemplate was why she even went. A lot of abolitionists stay out. Sensible men, lots of them. Not just douglas who you are seeing right now. But this was about three years older than Terry Harriet seven, eastern tour of maryland from Dorchester County but he did send two of his sons, this is a picture of one of his sons. Douglas who served at the 54th massachusetts richmond who had a very famous expedition after the company great. Even so, he tried to think about seven and think, hasnt she done enough . Between 1849 and 5061, she liberated herself which was quite an achievement. This is the runway notice house but not. Like a Police Bulletin although it was taken up by the planter who technically was with her tubman. You might notice every first woman, about 27 years of age. Her birth name, later she took her mothers name harriet. As she got to be an adult. She was fine looking as they say. What an interesting statement. If youre trying to describe somebody as you are people to stop the crowd, its not giving complement, you look great today, its about mining. This was a woman who if somebody saw her smiling, talking, moving about would say shes a fine looking woman. It also becomes a part of my story. She was so interesting because not only did she free herself but think how frightening that must have been, to walk that f far, never knowing if youd be captured. But she decided after she got there to start coming back. She said Different Things at different times why she did that. She said that was the good of freedom if you have to enjoy alone . If all the people in your family, people you know and grow up with, your brothers and sisters and parents nieces and nephews are still there, how could a woman i think im only a woman would have a limit. Nafta go back for every Family Member and a lot of the people were younger men, people who can run. Who can get away, who have the strength and stamina. More often they were meant. I like to turn the question around, only a woman can do it, you think maybe only a woman would have done it. Maybe one other person in American History about who to say this, stretch your imagination to a different. And think of a jewish person going back after they got out, correct nine times, times, rescue 90, 100 people. For the mountain go back again. Its utterly remarkable. Again, its documented but not freshly document it, we dont know all their names. We never will. She was committing a crime. So spies dont take self these of themselves. [laughter] the criminals, they dont generally document that. Depict the things she was doing, people trying to risk it. A perverse, this is from the famous book, a depiction of a woman was trying to run away, which is based on a true story by the way, crossing the ohio river, across the small ribbon of water on freedom of the other side. A good friend of Harriet Tubmans, introduced her at different times when she gave public addresses, later becomes the commander, the first of the volunteers. He said she had a worrywart of 12,000 dollars. And will probably be burned alive. Whenever she is caught. Again, naming one person who can say that kind of off the chart bravery. So one might think having accomplished all that, Harriet Tubman might have been content to let the army fight it out. Thank goodness. Finally last. She wasnt consent to do that and she said what she did. Go south work was very hot and to spend another four years of her life. She did nurse the winded. She washed clothes and helped support and freedom women and helped women start businesses and interrogated refugees that could bring information that might be couple to the unit. And to american officers, general rufus and montgomery, testimonies to be believed. She was also a spy. She was invaluable. You might say how to be get to become so bravery . I want you to think that it lets us all off the coat hook. By the way, some speculate that it maybe because of a very profound disability she had. More and more people now know that maybe some of you dont, just quite a disabled woman. She had a disability as a child, around age 12 when she entered the story, near dorchester in maryland, a picture i took not longer doing research, she walked in one day and was something, a man ran and after a young child ran in, trying to escape a man who was armed and trying to catch the child. They run into the store. Tubman is up her arms and the little boy runs behind her, runs at the door and the owner was so mad, he picks up in the middle of the store, a scale, which was common, they have heavy iron objects and he picks it up and trucks it at this. He misses the boy and said, hit harriet havent had. She had a frenetic brain injury for the entire rest of her life is very easily flipped into unconsciousness. Its as if i felt suddenly did this. Im doing that for the front but poor Harriet Tubman never did that. Again, some people say maybe that impaired her brain and way. She couldnt feel free. Brain trauma student to the head. Epilepsy as its called, the ability to feel fear, to make of the fact that she stood up before the injury, is a 12yearold, she stood up and armed a male, probably twice her side size. The bravery came somewhere deep within. The other element, i think its relevant, something you might feel in the moment, Harriet Pepin new intellectually her entire career, 11 years on the underground railroad, four years in the army, she could lose consciousness at any moment. On a trail. Weve all heard of and we all may be disabled vets but how many people go into the army with their profound disability, volunteer and stationed in the most perilous assignment with the profound disability going and . That was Harriet Tubman. This brings us to the rate. We do know Harriet Tubman was a person who is this in between, between people in the mainland or on the islands, she would interrogate for information that was used. By the way, the islands were very close to the mainland, to seeking taylor who was a nurse with the first volunteers. A sergeant, husband, edward. She said later so interesting to read these memoirs of that time, she said sometimes one or two soldiers would resort to us. They had no need for us to fight for them. And of course, these are white soldiers but as other people, across rivers, they often sought out. Pepin because a lot of people did not trust that they would seek. Hurt tubman would seek her out. These people came with very viable information. We know this from Robert Easley who wrote the same, these were in the south of the time but he wrote to another officer, the source of information to the enemy is to be gross. Not he has his own reception problem because hes very easily deceived by proper caution. He knows these are the sources of intelligence information but he doesnt want to believe they would be capable of this. Hard to say my word choice here, he was equivalent to save so someone like he didnt use the word slave. Harriet tubman preferred the word block. Thats something we know about her, they could call her, she never took offense easily. She wasnt trying to hold anybody down to a particular word. She preferred black. General david hunter in the two kernels were very eager for this information. They wanted information, not just doublethink but to maybe they could watch others against the coast and maybe even capture that hated symbol of the rebellion. The land of john adams. So they were using this information for Different Things. They had an early on against florida, they came away with 13 bales of cotton and they freed them. Not a lot there. In april 1863, the union attempted that. Marines on board, army ready, they were spoiled by underwater mines for the south used to mind harbors in the area and they were raked by the agility themselves. Others were heavily damaged. Thats because these tornadoes were very deadly weapons. So what happens the next month in may of 1863 is that someone begins playing. The trail is kind of cold. The newspaper reporter, class and decision, change of plans, look out in the company forever. Hard to believe they could be undertaken without careful planning. Not only because he had to get 300 men armed but you had to figure out a way around the underwater mines, a drawing of the underwater mind and what they like. More often to the bottom, sometimes different race in the which they were more in some create a more very to pending on how big the area was to pocket. It was depicted in the drawing. They had to get around these mines that were the south defense and the defense had just a month before the assault, by the way, they were called torpedo. That is what they were called at the time. World war ii movie or something. Torpedoes were under water mys. Sarah gets in the 1864 battle, damn the torpedoes for speed ahead. His speaking of these underwater mines, one of which just sunk the ship in front of them. In a matter of seconds. A lot of these work ships. Couldnt see them. Its worse yet, its a blackwater river. Rivers are so dark, natural sentiments. You can hardly see your hand when you put it down in the water. This was a real danger. Later, another raid in florida, underwater mine. Something had to be done. When they set out on the ninth of june first, not yet a stormy night, well get to that. To penetrate 25 miles up a river, descended from the shore by artillery and from underwater mines, they could only do so surely with excellent intelligence. But we dont know. On the one hand into the other hand. But i think we should make this, i think its a pretty safe assumption. Safe enough, which is why is this fiction on the cover of the book. Somebody found out where the torpedoes were angered. Somebody discovered the confederate had temporarily withdrawn their heavy artillery. Somebody deduced that ticket on demand because of the change in the season. They were company, they were lightly made at the time. Somebody else found out the new commander in the nearby confederate encampment which had 2000 soldiers, had a reputation as a slacker. He hadnt been drilling his men as vigorously as he should have. Somebody put all of this together. Send him the chain of command and then helped guide the gunships once the attack was undertaken. Likely it was somebody working with the team of negro scouts. As it turns out, Harriet Tubman was in command of the scouts. Or at least she claimed. Later in her application for military pension. What we know about the rate comes from her pension, which went through the American Congress and the American Government but a lot of it comes from the autobiography which was after the war, she got help from a woman, Sarah Bradford the north to put together an autobiography. Details are sparse to the history and, theres never enough detail. She does not describe the cia called sources and messes. She was a good spot. So we dont know much about her process of intelligence but she does right what we know about that day from a variety of other sources. Sparse, montgomery was one paragraph when it was over. Just one paragraph. Telling us it had succeeded. Harriet tubman is nowhere in the record, neither are many other people. Yet, we know there were a lot there. Her volume does collaborate details. We know for example, three ships sailed after dark, out of South Carolina, one of them grounded by shallow waters. They had to transfer everybody to ships from the third chip. These three ships continued on up the river using a surge, had the great knowledge of the time to had to work against could work against you all for your. People working in the fields. These are people like this working the fields is ocular for going on two centuries, using the waterways to cultivate the rice. So they go up this river invite on, they start to see people. They are also being seen in one of the plantation owners onshore sees horror, i ship with American Flag on the front. The American Flag in this context was a flag of freedom for all those people saved and he sees the flag he notices a curious thing in his later, women, top deck of the ship, isnt that strange . The next thing that happens, people began to stream towards the boats and its very curious because some people almost expect the ship, a lot of them dont some just surprised and off they go. This is the only product we have in june of 1863 to draw what was subsequently to show what the rate was like. Easy to american ships up seating up river, jumping into the river trying to get to the ships. Got people on that way as well. A variety of ways. You have to imagine how it happens because all we have, all you get is this one drawing by someone who wasnt there. I think it was remarkable that it appears on the page with this famous story. This famous story you see in the center, the picture of the man you can get now, a terrible physical damage done by whipping. This man in the picture, this is how he comes into union lines, a person fleeing. The doctors asking to examine him and the photographer takes his pictures and shows him uniformed, part member of the u. S. And the troops. U. S. Ct. Its irrelevant and so anyways, what this rate was about, taking more to the confederacy because not only do they liberate people, they bring on board and hope to have the same story, recruit them as soldiers but they are also beginning to destroy other means of war. Food stores, burning plantation and thats one of the things you see in the smoke up above on the righthand side. They are shocked that the plantations are being burned and all this buying property, inandout of there are being destroyed. A precursor to Something Like he comes later on. This is the second South Carolina and i want to mention something about that because the person in charge is not telling us, lovely man. He was ahead of the first south, but colonel montgomery of a second South Carolina. We dont quite know what top and does about this in her biography. She says that hunter, general hunter asked her if she would go. You go along on the rate and said i will go if you appoint James Montgomery to lead the way. Montgomery was a western man, he had written with john brown in kansas before the American Civil War broke out. It was don brown, somebody who Harriet Tubman had met but montgomery was alongside him. Its hard to exaggerate the importance at that time of john brown. People today are like maybe we could sing a song or something. At this time, for a white man to risk his life, to try to start a war to liberate people, its a meaningful think. Its about taking that to the gallows. In a woman offered her baby for him to guests. For harriet tappan, this is a later photograph after the war, is very important that it be montgomery. By the way, her description of the raid was the only one published after the war. It was widely distributed, never contradicted. Instead, her account and applications for military pension was supported by u. S. Secretary of state william in writing. He was there at the same time as lincoln. Most of them. Desperately wounded. He recommended her for pension. Also general section, the command over the royal island and military inspections. For her application, despite made many inside the enemies lines. Invaluable as a scout. Montgomery, the colonel placed her as the most remarkable woman and terribly invaluable. I want to tell you, she was granted a military pension. Awarded the honor of a pension and the u. S. Government as a very old woman. It took her 30 years. It was retroactive. I think was that she was awarded a pension as a nurse. Which she was. But we have the documents on one man who served under her, which was identified as one of the men under her command, and applied for petition for sensation from congress for scout pension which he received so recognition of scout of Harriet Tubman was a nurse for the u. S. Government. In some ways, shes like who i wrote about earlier, you might be familiar with the Service Pilots who had the petition year after year, decade after decade to get, i want a slide on my coffin. Tappan eventually got that. She was buried in new york where her grave stars. On to thank my husband for me here and coming with me to all of my adventures. She got this award. Now being a historian here, is evident she played more important roles and that of nurse. What evidence that they made the rate possible . Tappan, probably, its hard to imagine about trey expense would say its hard to imagine that intelligence did not pave the way. It wasnt just some spontaneous thing. Thats one thing. The other thing, planters are separately, two of them. The ships maneuvered around the torpedoes. The hidden torpedoes. How can they move around the ships unless they know where it is even if they cant see it . The also recognize that some people, not everybody seemed to be expecting this rate. They were poised to rally other people. One painter spotted women on the top deck of the flight ship. Harriet top and wrote about the raid. She never claimed credit for having led the raid. That is just Harriet Tubman. Thats the way she was. Of course the film starring Denzel Washington and morgan freeman. This was a bit before that. She never claimed that, but it was sexting who said that she went behind the lines many times. Apparently the language, she did not stick out, she was a spy, this is something she had done before. Gone into enemy turbine along type show also listed a hundred other command. One man was walter, if you read my book you will meet walter with way, i will tell you things about with him that are not in any record, he does not mention her by name. He never said i was on board with. Tubman, he says when appropriate many times but he does it mention anybody binding. I went upriver, this is what i did, and one wonders, what to bring to the congress, i went up over but by woman. I dont know that sounds like a patient in the 19th century. On the one hand and on the other hand, Harriet Tubman said she influence the choice of montgomery, who taught suggest she put a major role in strategy even though she did not claim it. But again nowhere in the military records doesnt say, but here it tubman or anyone else, without the intelligence insured the success of the trade. And it was successful as my novel brings to life the adventures and there is a love story because no novel is complete without a lobster it goes back to a dark and stormy night an. They come out and they flock into the church that. And looking for to going back and having a chance to speak to the Baptist Church it was a Different Church than this one. Its the biggest one and tapped they go in to thank god for the freedom and safety but the recruitment of the beach. Thats what worked in the army. They are in the church with the wisconsin journals. A man who i never met. Tubman, who do not know her name but in the process learned her coming. This is his quote, what is going to happen that morning after he softened his own eyes send off, he says in his band of 300 block soldiers under the guidance, dashed into the enemys country and struck a bold little reflective blow without losing a man or receiving a scratch. The colonel speech was followed by a speech from the black woman who led the raid. And under whose aspiration it was originated and conducted. For some friends and eloquence her address would do honor to any man and it created quite a sensation. She is called moses no historian can say, no one can document the role Harriet Tubman play, the deeper the account that would allow us to complete what exactly happened. Literature infection, grandmother license can help us imagine, can help you see it, can help us feel it. By the way, i originally thought the title of the book go to moses, without the previous go down south and she did first by herself to liberate people individually, and secondly to grant south to recruit in every two liberate people and help the nation they were every american, somewhere in the heart wanted. Which would be the land of the free and the home of the brave. And so i asked myself, and sometimes i wonder when people question, what happened on that day. I think to myself, are we making too big of deal out of this woman . What evidence do we have . Are we using selective perception to see what we want to see . I think we are actually paying her proper attention. [laughter] and i think proper attention has been most and previously approved which is to put, i written a books on American History,. [no audio] they run in the same direction of his mind. I urge you to take this up when the representative which is under consideration proposed by Elijah Cummings of maryland and representative of new york, at the bipartisan bill to urge the administration to follow through on the previous plan to put Harriet Tubman on the dollar bill. I urge you to take that up and i urge you to read this new book. [laughter] its called the tubman comman command. [applause] thank you. All of that applause was for Harriet Tubman. Thank you. Are there any questions, we have time. Its hard to sit there for so long, yes, maam on the left. [inaudible question] was she literate . No she is not literate. She never could read, she gathered to rebuneverdid learn. She like people try to start. Guests are in the front and out of the questio. An audiblean aud. How did she recruit back soldiers if they were early in uniform versus after lana, and the answer is she did not do any of the salon. General david hunter had recruited people. They do not have sufficient recruit the chart to get some movement on the island to think this is a good idea. They joined a lot of people to do volunteer people come from everywhere. People were escaping by all means both short distance to freedom. When she come and they would interface for the army as a recruiter. Again she did not recruit the whole army, and when her speech at the end, this particular rosary permits that is what montgomery gets up to do, okay gentlemen not have to do an unpleasant thing which is on a uniform, pick up guide, and risk your life. And along side the 54th massachusetts, the run expedition to try to assault sumter later on. Tell me about her first and her second husband, i love this question. Its interesting, i always think its like putting Mother Teresa, Queen Latifah and spiderman altogether. And also somebody who most of us really respect so deeply, but you want to humanize the present but by the way, they must have a lot of faults. If you want to make somebody human you have to make them laugh, cry and be irritable. And cranky sometimes. Because otherwise, its always a plastic figure. If somebody does not challenge us to be about herself, is that some of herself had to rise up against challenges. One of the things about Harriet Tubman, she was worried her marriage, she buried her lovelife. She left her first husband because he was free already and he did not see the need to go with her. When she went back for him a year later to try to convince him, he was black, a person of color, he had early married another woman, every woman. Before we hate not him too much, i think we must organize, she mustve loved her, the particular part o h their children would be enslaved. He mustve liked to power a lot. But any man in the audience would do that . So he married every woman, a broker, she was at that point that she decided this is what my lifework is going to be. She becomes in the foregoing way, after the worshipers again, she marries a man from the u. S. Colored troops, a veteran who fought in florida. Chicago likely met him down there but we dont know. They come to new york and actually meet. Of new york, she is a saint, Mother Teresa part of her, she is 5 feet and he is 6foot, and he is a veteran and he is by the way, to two years younger than her. [laughter] i meant to address only because her first husband made a married woman that he couldve made a better choice. It wouldve been sensible to marry a free woman. Probably wouldve been sensible to merit a man thats 20 years younger does marry someone your own age prints shows and attaching that way but he thought she was a fine looking. And by the way, we pictionary so she could take care of him. Thats what she does. She is a noble person. She took a lot of she never married. Im just thinking she was a real human being. In the novel attempts to capture. [inaudible question] i cannot put my finger exactly, i know the book i can get it from. I think with hayward, he was the patient owner, the plantation of the river that was rated and burned to the ground. The one proceeding upward on these plantations the sleepwalkers. If anybody did not get out they wanted to make sure that a place to go home to. Hayward i believe was that, intellectual nichols was a man further downriver and noticed blood been alerted, it was so strange he also said he saw them dodging trip ghost angling around to dust. He was a painter, he had to get tips up and down there all the time for he wouldve known for the work, he did not want to run into them. His people wouldve known. His people told somebody. [inaudible question] very good question, why would there have been a bounty on this one woman. Did they think its a string that these people from the swamp keep disappearing. Over time it became known, she meets bushes and boston again, a great rest. That is when thomas went were said when she goes back in a c caught shall be burned alive. She was criticized in the southern. She helped her parents get to safety, and for th at the end or lives they got their freedom. And she went back for them. If we were early freeways should go back . But you have to think what fiction does, you dont do that when you write nonfiction. You think, my mom and dad are down there, and i know the tool to get up by themselves, and i know theyd rather be with the children, i will have to go down and get them myself. Mom and dad you got a company which is what she did we dont know the exact bounty, we know that thomas said there was different estimates, is not clear how high it was, but quite clear she was once a woman. She is a master of disguise. Again, you think how did the woman get away with it, she was tiny, she acted like an old person. People never expect middleaged women to wrap tanks rob thanks. [inaudible question] good question. One of my favorite people, a signal Corps Officer dear to my heart because i wrote about women in world war i, two very good questions. Was that the government under obligation to return and escaped slaves . The slave asked said so, but there was were on, and the union was not really doing that at that point. There was a lot of flux and union policy. When they got the islands, he wrote the thing saying we free everybody, they are free now. Lincoln wrote him the next month and said that is not true. Backup. Thats why they uses term contraband. Somebody could be declared contraband then there is a legal fiction to allow you to keep the person because otherwise they can be used by the enemy as they were. Tube mines and rivers. Involving alligators by the way. All other things were slaves were used during the war. The union was writing a fine line. Anybody in a secessionist gate was definitely free of these purposes and also order not by congress. Someone like. Some of wouldve been the exception being in the loyal state of the union. I probably forgot the second question. Oh yeah, what happened after words. This is a neat story, i cannot wait to read it, its by other fields of black and she has written about that group of people she has used the records of the u. S. Army to search they came to call themselves the companies, they were the large collection of refugees who end up on the island and they build small houses for these people and it becomes an identifiable community that over time and today they say im one of the conveys. We always distinguish herself and everybody else, the ceilings with the folks there were there originally. And then a proud group. They were free, they became free people in many of the state of the cls, Harriet Tubman chose not to love her life in the south after work. Unless the family did return south. Maryland was home. Its a hard thing would people leave home. They leave behind so many things to make them feel like home. An audibl[inaudible question] i believe that i like to think of myself as a fullservice historian. Thank you. I write nonfiction about the hello girls, another Nonfiction Book as well, ive written other novels because i think people like to read Different Things, like just the facts. Not even a cloud in the sky, just the facts. Some people want to go to the beach and read in the bathtub, and its kind of for my mom passed away a couple months ago, she would like to dust them and they were all very welladjusted. It wasnt until i wrote fiction, and novel but i caught her reading my books. [laughter] so i think Something Like that. And isometric, and honorable husband who is here, in turn, who kindly came. He is a filemaker and i collaborate on that as well. We actually have a firm, if you go to your pdf app and look up cyber work, we just had a phone that came out this month about the history of artificial work and artificial work in the Artificial Intelligence that is to know happened, so i might try to elucidate what happened and her love life, broadway digital data . Some say yes . But fiction allows us to make a claim to see what that might evolve like in history says she had a daughter and later had to go back for. If you and the balcony and have a question asked these. [inaudible question] so the very interesting question, and the way today do any oral histories talk to her families today. I did not, a couple of reasons, the most reasonable reason, oral history are always a bit remember things that happened a long time before, time changes or memories even a motivation, user motivation first. Multiple generations intervene and then you really are getting more were not getting closer to facts. She does have family descendents, we dont know shows me the video descendents. She had nieces and nephews, some who live in auburn, new york. One step the organ at age 98 every sunday. Tubman died in 91 came from a sturdy longlived family. I do not speak with family descendents. I hope to read it, i be greatly honored of course. Thank you for the question. [inaudible question] an excellent question, probably also from a military person. She was called general tubman by john brown. She was called general tubman by john brown. Charbonneau military rank which he felt that she should have. He wouldve made her one of his generals, she was supposed to go along in the Harpers Ferry rate, he wanted federal douglas to go as well although douglas did not have the same kind of experience the Harriet Tubman did in the field kind of experience that harry truman had, she was unable to go, again, i dont know why long story has, she is unable to go, and we dont altogether know why. I am glad she did not. Other questions . [inaudible question] thank you. Especially for your service. Thank you. What a lovely voice the speaker had, i hear every word she said. I did not get to mention shes very good singer. I also wanted to say, she was very funny. They saw her speak to a number of audience and said she could make laugh and cry. A connection to these books, first of all, i was dumbfounded, but here im talking about another woman whose Position Congress before decades before she gets her pension. So women of civil war, over one, world war ii, i backed into that, i did not see that i have attempted i guess, typically honest, i had a mind several books, Harriet Tubman was one of them, after the election of 2016, one thing i observed about the election was how hard it is for a woman to be a leader in like this case, hillary clinton. Just as women who are enslaved and encounter a different problem from men who arent sleeping there is also a different character of what happens, how did Harriet Tubman do that, how did she leave all these men and what did he do who women have meant always look upon women as more and one of the reasons to deny women to vote for years. How deep our side, what sacrifice you make, the sacrifice of your husband, possibly your child, your home because you left home again to come back to the work i just thought of this, an interesting thing, the election felt that up to me again and maybe feel that whatever we can do as americans, as Elijah Cummings recently said in a speech to congress, he said were better than that. And the things that we can do to remind us we are better, people like Harriet Tubman, are better than america has this ribbon of courage and quest for freedom that runs 12 us, and that someone like. Tubman represents the rest of us. Thank you. I think the book is coming out. [applause] if you buy a book, im happy to inscribe from you or anybody else outside. [inaudible conversations]
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