CHURCH CREEK, Md. — Harriet Tubman, the American abolitionist and icon of courage, was posthumously awarded the rank of brigadier general by the Maryland Army National Guard Monday, 111 years after her death.
The ceremony took place in Tubman's hometown of Dorchester County, Maryland on Veterans Day. Her great-great-great-grandniece, Tina Wyatt, accepted the promotion on her behalf.
"She would say it wasn’t me, it was the Lord," Wyatt said.
Wyatt, though three generations removed from Tubman, was visibly moved by the recognition.
"I’m overwhelmed, and just, I’m tearing up because she did so many great things," Wyatt said.
The promotion became possible after the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation earlier this year, authorizing Gov. Wes Moore to grant the honor. The effort gained momentum through a grassroots movement.
"She was able to free people, she was able to support the Union Army," said Major Janeen L. Birckhead, a key advocate for the promotion. "She was able to go behind enemy lines get information to free hundreds of people during raids at Combahee, all of those things were seminal in the nation’s history to lead us to where we are today."
Birckhead, like Tubman, hails from Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
"Growing up, I heard many stories about Harriet Tubman, that she was a general," Birckhead said. "And it never dawned on me that she wasn’t a real general until later on in life, until it dawned on me, she was a general because she led people."
As a two-star general, Birckhead understands the difficulty of reaching such a rank, and she believes Tubman more than earned the distinction.
"She was always prepared and ready to operate at both the tactical and strategic levels," Birckhead said. "I think that general is the appropriate rank for her."
Gov. Moore lauded Tubman’s courage and selflessness, saying her actions are a powerful reminder of the importance of confronting injustice.
"She raised her hand to join the Union Army as both a soldier and a spy because she believed that if you want to change a flawed system, you have to be willing to fight for it," Moore said.
"Her willingness to face unimaginable dangers to liberate others is a powerful testament to what it means to resist injustice," Edith Patterson, a Maryland state delegate from District 28, added.
With this promotion, General Tubman continues in death as she did in life, leading the way towards equality for all.