The Combahee River Raid: Harriet Tubman & Lowcountry Liberation

In 1863, the Union was unable to adequately fill its black regiments. In an attempt to remedy that, Colonel James Montgomery led a raid up the Combahee River on June 2 to gather recruits and punish the plantations. Aiding him was an expert at freeing slaves—famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The remarkable effort successfully rescued about 750 enslaved men, women and children. Only one soldier was killed in the action, which marked a strategy shift in the war that took the fight to civilian...