Maryland posthumously promotes Harriet Tubman to one-star general to honor her military service

DORCHESTER COUNTY -- Maryland Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland National Guard posthumously commissioned Harriet Tubman to the rank of brigadier general to honor her military service.

The ceremony was held at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center in Dorchester County on Veterans Day.

During the ceremony, Major General Janeen Birckhead officially recognized Tubman's military service as a spy, scout, nurse and cook.

Who Was Harriet Tubman?

Tubman was the first African American woman to serve the U.S. military in combat and she provided intelligence to the Union Army about the location, supply lines and missions of Confederate troops.  

Tubman was also the first woman to lead an armed military assault that freed over 750 slaves.  

During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse and cook for soldiers and African Americans who were recently freed from slavery. After the war, she was awarded a Civil War pension for her service.  

Military leaders from across the state, along with descendants of Tubman participated in the ceremony as Tubman was commissioned as a one-star general in the Maryland Army National Guard.  

The honor comes two weeks after Gov. Moore renamed the Banneker Douglass Tubman Museum to celebrate Tubman's legacy on the 106th anniversary of Maryland's Emancipation Day, November 1.  

"Our history is our power – and when you study the tragedies and triumphs of those who came before, you realize there is nothing we cannot achieve," Gov. Moore said during the renaming ceremony. 

The Banneker Douglass Tubman Museum serves as Maryland's official African American history and culture museum, the governor said.