Today in Labor History June 2, 1863: Backed by three gunboats, Harriet Tubman and her force of 300 black soldiers, freed 800 enslaved people in the Combahee River Raid, South Carolina. Furthermore, they set fire to the plantations and destroyed millions of dollars-worth of stores, cotton and homes of the wealthy, without losing a single person. Additionally, it was the only military engagement in American history where a woman, black or white, “led the raid and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted.” Tubman devised her war strategy after repeatedly penetrating across enemy lines and spying on Confederate troop movements. In the aftermath, Confederate Captain John F. Lay said, “The enemy seems to have been well posted as to the character and capacity of our troops and their small chance of encountering opposition, and to have been well guided by persons thoroughly acquainted with the river and country.” Most Americans know of Tubman’s role in the Underground Railroad. However, she was also a spy for the Union Army. And in the late 1850s, she helped John Brown plan his raid on Harper’s Ferry and recruit supporters for the raid.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #civilwar #harriettubman #slavery #Abolition #undergroundrailroad #johnbrown #liberation #espionage #strongwomen #blm #BlackMastodon

RE: https://mastodon.online/@chessert/116666356256573815

What would #JohnBrown do? #WWJBD
 

This 👇 plus taking advantage of #LiminalSpaces

Like property on that county and/or state line that's not really controlled by either.

#TTJ

"They hanged him as a traitor, they themselves the traitor crew..."

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2098314/they-hanged-him-as-a-traitor-they-themselves-the-traitor-crew

Today in Labor History May 24, 1856: The Pottawatomie Massacre occurred in Kansas. On May 21 pro-slavery forces sacked Lawrence, Kansas, which had been settled by abolitionist “Free-Staters.” The next day, they attacked Senator Charles Sumner for speaking out against slavery in Kansas. In response, John Brown, and his supporters in the Pottawatomie Rifles, killed five pro-slavery settlers in front of their families. This led to a mini-civil war in Kansas that was a prelude to the national Civil War that would follow a few years later. The Pottawatomie Rifles were an armed militia created to counter growing pro-slavery presence in Kansas. They were led by John Brown's son John Jr. They took part in the Battle of Osawatomie and the Pottawatomie massacre.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #slavery #abolition #johnbrown #civilwar #racism #kansas #BlackMastodon

Luke Graham primed for Rangers test as former mentor insists he won't face the same Ibrox issues he did

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/luke-graham-primed-rangers-test-37192688

Today in Writing History May 22, 1880: Victor Hugo died. Hugo wrote poetry, novels and drama over the course of sixty years. His most famous works include Les Miserables (1862) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831). Though he was a conservative early in his life, he broke with the conservatives in 1848, calling for the end of misery and poverty. He also supported universal suffrage and free education for all children. Additionally, he was known worldwide for his advocacy to abolish the death penalty and slavery. In 1859, he asked the U.S. to spare John Brown’s life. He also begged Benito Juarez to spare the life of Maximilian I.

When Napoleon III seized power, Hugo publicly called him a traitor. After that, he lived in exile from 1855 to 1870. While in exile, he published his most famous political pamphlets, Napoleon le Petit and Histoire d’un Crime. Both were banned in France. However, in spite of these progressive views, he supported colonialism because of its “civilizing” effects on the colonized peoples. And he wrote that the Paris Commune was as “idiotic as the National Assembly is ferocious. From both sides, folly.” But he did offer his support to Commune participants when they were being brutalized.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #johnbrown #victorhugo #pariscommune #poverty #racism #exile #censorship #freespeech #slavery #abolition #poetry #novels #fiction #writer #author @bookstadon