1–2 June 1863
Self-emancipationBook sources
The Combahee River expedition frees hundreds of enslaved people
Combahee River, South Carolina
Harriet Tubman helped guide a Union expedition up the Combahee River using intelligence from local Black people. Enslaved families escaped plantations to the boats while Black Union troops participated in the operation.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
Tubman’s intelligence and organizing role is distinct from Colonel James Montgomery’s military command. The liberation depended on enslaved people’s decisions and local knowledge; the exact total is not fixed here.
Sources
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 9, pp. 193–194; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- National Park Service: We Called Ourselves Combee ↗