Permanent Harriet Tubman Monument unveiled in Beaufort, SC on Saturday

A crowd of 700 people gathered in downtown Beaufort on Saturday afternoon to witness the unveiling of the monument to Harriet Tubman.Photo byAmber Hewitt/Amber's Eye Photography

After nearly seven years of fundraising efforts to create a permanent monument to Harriet Tubman, the beautiful 14 foot tall, hand-sculpted piece of art was unveiled on Saturday afternoon during a moving ceremony at the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church in downtown Beaufort, SC that was attended by about 700 people, including including Ernestine Wyatt, 3x great grandniece of Tubman herself.

Sculptor Ed Dwight, who is known for completing more than 100 history-rich memorials and art projects dedicated to the African experience, has created a 14 foot tall larger than life-sized sculpture of Tubman on top of a bronze pedestal that features scenes depicting slaves rushing toward their escape and refuge in 1863.

Born enslaved on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1822, Tubman is best-known as the conductor of the Underground Railroad, as she led at least 70 slaves in Maryland to freedom before the Civil War. She is also known for her Combahee River raid on June 2nd, 1863. Under the command of Union Colonel James Montgomery, Tubman became the first woman to lead a major military operation in the United States when she and 150 African American Union soldiers rescued more than 700 slaves along the Combahee River during the Civil War.

The date of the monument unveiling, June 1, 2024, was also the 161st anniversary of the day that Tubman left Beaufort, SC to start her heroic Combahee River raid the following day.

The sculpture features an image of a typical soldier under arms and provides an area for imagery or interpretative text to share more about the legendary Combahee River raid and Tubman’s involvement in Beaufort.

The monument depicting Harriet Tubman’s heroic adventures now sits next to the 161 year old church on Craven Street in downtown Beaufort, SC. Tabernacle Baptist is also the burial place of Robert Smalls, who was born a slave in Beaufort and became a Civil War hero and Congressman, and died in 1915. A bust of Smalls is also on the church grounds.

But her work in South Carolina during the Civil War often gets overlooked, said the Rev. Kenneth Hodges, the church’s pastor for 29 years. The monument is the very first in the state marking her daring mission in June 1863 along the Combahee River.

“Harriet Tubman is a world-renowned figure, and right now, South Carolina isn’t putting any resources into the fact that she was here,” Hodges said.

“We wanted to do something more meaningful to put an emphasis on the role she played specifically in Beaufort County. We felt that the time was right now. Although she helped with the raid that was led from Beaufort, Tubman also served as a scout, a spy, cook and did things to help newly freed slaves, mainly women, become self-sufficient,” Hodges, also aformer SC Congressman, added.

Craven Street itself is steeped in history. The old Beaufort Arsenal and the Beaufort History Museum is a block east of the church. To the west is the Secession House, site of many informal discussions and formal meetings during the 1850’s to discuss withdrawal from the Union. Many historic homes also line the street, and it’s all right in the middle of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.

For more information about the Harriet Tubman Monument, you can visit https://www.harriettubmanmonument.com/