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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 921 TUBMAN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
It's 1863. Harriet Tubman is facing one of the biggest--and most dangerous-- challenges of her life. She has survived her master's lash, escaped from slavery, and risked her life countless times to lead runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Now she has a new role--that of Union spy! The outcome of a secret night raid deep into Confederate territory depends on the accuracy of the intelligence she and other black spies have gathered. Success will mean freedom for hundreds of slaves. Failure will mean death by hanging. You are about to enter the undercover world of African-American spies--enslaved and free--risking everything in the name of freedom. How were the Underground Railroad and slave songs used to pass secret messages? What were "contrabands" and "Black Dispatches?" What did Harriet have in common with the Secret Six and a maidservant in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis? You'll discover these answers and more as the action unfolds. Thomas B. Allen, author of the award-winning George Washington, Spymaster, has sifted through military and intelligence archives, diaries, and little-known memoirs from ex-slaves to bring to light new facts about the role Harriet and other black spies played in helping the Union win the war. This detailed account combined with powerful archival images supplemented with woodcuts by Carla Bauer, maps, a time line, footnotes, and extensive quote sources make this incredibly detailed account an excellent resource for report writing as well as an exciting true-life adventure.National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
Author Notes
Thomas B. Allen is the author of the award-winning book, George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War. He is the co-author with Norman Polmar of Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage; Code-name Downfall; and Merchants of Treason, a report on modern espionage. He is also the co-author, with Paul Dickson, of The Bonus Army. Tom Allen lives in Bethesda, Maryland. You can visit him on the Web at www.tballen.com. Carla Bauer is a woodcut illustrator whose work has been exhibited in the National Academy of Design. She lives in New York City.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-This small book contains a lot of fascinating information on the network of slaves and free blacks who advanced the Union cause during the Civil War. The narrative is framed by the story of Harriet Tubman, the ex-slave and conductor of the Underground Railroad, whose work to help others escape is well known; less is known about her role as a spy. Tubman assisted Northern troops by tapping into a group of ex-slaves working in the South and passing information on to the Union forces. According to Allen, she led a raid along the Combahee River and may have led other expeditions as well. Readers also meet other people who participated in the espionage, including Elizabeth Van Lew, who devised a numerical code to transmit information that she picked up at society gatherings. Using this code, which is described in an appendix, the author includes several messages in the book. The type font and black-and-white reproductions and maps greatly enhance the presentation; in addition to illustrations from traditional sources, such as the Library of Congress, there are quality originals. A great addition to any collection.-Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In this twist on a popular subject, Tubman's life story (interwoven with the events of the Civil War) reads like an adventure novel. Nevertheless, the well-documented book, cleverly designed and illustrated to look like a vintage volume, separates fact from myth. Extensive appendices include source notes, a map, and a spy code (several codes are hidden throughout for readers to solve). Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Allen brings readers much more than the usual biography of the brave rescuer on the Underground Railroad. This small, packed volume tells of Harriet Tubman's astonishing roles as spy, secret agent, and military leader, and it combines her personal story with a history of the abolitionist movement and the Civil War, focusing on how ex-slaves and free blacks served the Union cause. Whether African Americans were "invisible" servants listening to and reporting their masters' battle plans or ex-slaves leading guerrilla raids on the areas they knew well, the spy action is the heart of the account, which includes the secret codes spies used to pass on messages as they worked "in the darkness of secrecy and prejudice." The dense history is illustrated with numerous archival images, maps, and woodcuts, and the documentation is meticulous. A time line, a bibliography, and notes and quote sources are appended. An excellent resource for students' research; pair it with Catherine Clinton's adult book Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom0 (2004). --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2006 Booklist
Table of Contents
Cast of Key Characters | p. 6 |
Prologue: Black Moses | p. 9 |
Chapter 1 Harriet's Escape | p. 17 |
Chapter 2 The Underground Railroad | p. 27 |
Chapter 3 Slave Revolts | p. 37 |
Chapter 4 John Brown Meets the General | p. 45 |
Chapter 5 Trouble at Harpers Ferry | p. 57 |
Chapter 6 The "Old Colored Woman" | p. 67 |
Chapter 7 Trouble in the Capital | p. 77 |
Chapter 8 The Secret War | p. 83 |
Chapter 9 Black Dispatches | p. 95 |
Chapter 10 Black Spies and the Anaconda Plan | p. 113 |
Chapter 11 Harriet Goes to War | p. 127 |
Chapter 12 The General Leads a Raid | p. 139 |
Epilogue: Telling the Secrets | p. 163 |
Map and Time Line | p. 168 |
Elizabeth Van Lew's Code | p. 172 |
Text Notes | p. 173 |
Quote Sources | p. 182 |
Further Reading | p. 187 |
Index | p. 189 |