Sept. 12, 2025
GETTYSBURG, Pa.—Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation are pleased to co-host a free public event spotlighting Harriet Tubman’s extraordinary role as a Union military leader and freedom fighter during the Civil War. On Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, acclaimed historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black will present a program centered on her acclaimed book COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War. Complimentary tickets are required and may be reserved at GettysburgFoundation.org.
While Harriet Tubman is widely known for her escape from slavery and courageous work on the Underground Railroad, COMBEE sheds light on her overlooked service as a spy for the U.S. Army. Fields-Black’s groundbreaking research brings to life the 1863 Combahee River Raid in South Carolina, an audacious mission that liberated more than 700 enslaved people. The book received the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.
A direct descendant of a soldier who fought in the Combahee River Raid, Fields-Black reveals how Tubman led a network of spies, pilots and informants—many of them freedom seekers themselves—to orchestrate the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history. The 1863 raid freed 756 enslaved people from seven rice plantations along South Carolina’s Combahee River. Drawing from newly examined records, Fields-Black brings to life the individuals who carried out the mission and those who emerged from it, illuminating the resilience of a community and the enduring power of Tubman’s leadership. Learn more about Fields-Black and her works.
COMBEE will be available to purchase, with a signing to follow the program. Admission is free with a reserved ticket. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited. For reservations and event details, visit GettysburgFoundation.org.
Opportunities are available for the public to become involved in supporting the Gettysburg Foundation’s mission of preservation and education in partnership with the National Parks at Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Foundation invites the public to join the Friends of Gettysburg, its membership arm of the organization offering member benefits, including exclusive programming for First Corps level members throughout the year.
Friends of Gettysburg’s First Corps Weekend Event: Stories of Courage and Freedom
The Friday evening program with Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black also kicks off the Friends of Gettysburg’s First Corps Weekend Event, with special programming September 12-13. While the Friday evening talk is open to the public, Saturday’s exclusive program focuses on the untold history of Black life, resistance and resilience in and around Gettysburg and requires active First Corps membership and reservations. First Corps Weekend Event reservations include the Friday program.
More information about the Friends of Gettysburg and membership benefits is available at GettysburgFoundation.org/Friends.