Harriet Tubman: A Soldier for Liberty

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/petition-harriet-tubman-receive-congressional-medal-honor

We all know about the great news about Harriet Tubman being on the $20 bill. It’s great news, but there is still an injustice we can work to undo. I hope you’ll help me in my petition to President Obama to get redress for this wrong.

 Harriet Tubman wasn’t just an American Moses as a private citizen and leader of the Underground Railroad. When the Civil War broke out she went to work for the United States Army, serving in some of the more traditional roles as a nurse and cook, but more remarkably she went much further than that, and as she did throughout her life broke through barriers of race and gender. She went to work performing intelligence duties behind enemy lines and even served as an armed scout, taking the battle to the enemy.

 What she did next though was truly remarkable. She became a battlefield commander and liberator of over 700 enslaved people in a daring raid.

On June 1st and 2nd of 1863 Harriet Tubman led, a combined Army and Navy expedition from Beaufort, South Carolina to engage in a series of raids on the Combahee River. While was Tubman, under the command of Colonel James Montgomery of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry, a regiment of formerly enslaved troops, it was her idea and her plan. With no regard for her personal safety Tubman took a leadership role at the head of the regiment and guided them up the river to their destination, causing great harm to the enemy with minimal casualties.

One significant result of the raid was the liberation of an estimated 750 people from slavery who were taken to safety behind Union lines at St. Helena Island. The success of this raid was due to the planning, intelligence and leadership of Army Scout Tubman, a person who was not even recognized as a combatant.

The success of this raid led to the Union forces had significant implications in that theater of the conflict. It led to an increased appreciation for the effectiveness and usefulness of African American troops under fire, led to further use of this type of raid, deprived the enemy of significant resources and tied down enemy troops that could have been used to their advantage elsewhere. It also directly led to recruitment of additional African American troops to the Union cause.

Due to the peculiarities of this historical era the contributions of Harriet Tubman, as an African American, a woman and as a former enslaved person, were not properly recognized despite her evident outstanding leadership, courage and dedication to the cause of the United States. In a more enlightened era she would have been more fully appreciated and recognized for her heroism. That era is now.

By the standards of the Civil War there is a clear case to be made that Harriet Tubman be awarded a Medal of Honor. I am petitioning the President to make this award in a timely manner, and, if necessary, propose appropriate legislation.

Will you add your name to mine? If this petition gets 100,000 signatures within 30 days of its creation, the White House will review it and respond!

 You can view and sign the petition here:

 Petition for Harriet Tubman to Receive a Congressional Medal of Honor

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/petition-harriet-tubman-receive-congressional-medal-honor

 Please share too. We need 100,000 signatures in thirty days.

 Respectfully yours,

John J Gallagher