Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman was beaten and whipped by her various masters as a child. In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, only to return to Maryland to rescue her family soon after. Slowly, one group at a time, she brought relatives with her out of the state, and eventually guided dozens of other enslaved people to freedom. Tubman (or “Moses”, as she was called) “never lost a passenger” as she executed some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. The first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, she guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, which liberated more than 700 enslaved people. Tubman met John Brown in 1858, and helped him plan and recruit supporters for his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women’s suffrage. After her death in 1913, she became an icon of courage and freedom.