During all of my years at a public school in rural southwestern Ohio in the 1950s, it was a man's world. I don't recall learning a thing about any women who made history other than Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (well okay, maybe Betsy Ross, who earned 13 stars for her work). Once I got out and about, graduated from college and joined the ranks of the feminist movement, though, that changed. The area to which I moved (and have spent the rest of my life so far) boasts stops on the Underground Railroad, and I soon became familiar with other suffragette names like Harriet Taylor Upton and Harriet Tubman (notably, the Upton House, her home from 1887 to 1931 and now a museum, is in Warren, Ohio - just a few miles from my home).
Given that proximity and my longstanding commitment to women's rights, then, I was delighted to have an opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I knew a bit about Tubman's work with the Underground Railroad; but until now, I had no clue as to her very important work as a spy for the Union Army. In fact, as detailed in this book, Gen. David Hunter put her in charge of directing and leading the largest plantation raid of the entire Civil War. Reluctantly, she had left her husband and child to carry on her mission, even while knowing that what the future held was nothing short of daunting. Known far and wide as "Moses," she already was a wanted woman who no doubt would be put to death if captured; nonetheless, she was determined to get behind enemy lines to set bondsmen free and recruit them to fight for the Union cause.
The research it must have taken to even begin pulling together a book like this is amazing to me (and as a journalist, I've got more than a passing acquaintance with the process). Turning that mountain of information into an educational yet highly readable format makes it all the more special. Although it is based on facts, it is a novel; the author does an outstanding job of adding details and emotion-filled dialogue that bring the story to life and make it far more interesting than a dry rendition in a history textbook.
In short, well done and highly recommended.
The Tubman Command by Elizabeth Cobbs (Arcade, May 2019); 336 pp.
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