A major chapter in American history, long overlooked, is finally taking center stage. Having opened on May 23 at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, Picturing Freedom: Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid brings new attention to the largest and most successful slave rebellion in United States history.
In 1863, behind Confederate lines in South Carolina, Harriet Tubman led a daring mission known as the Combahee River Raid. That moonlit night, 756 enslaved people liberated themselves from seven plantations along the Combahee River—more than ten times the number Tubman freed through the Underground Railroad over the course of a decade. This powerful uprising, orchestrated by Tubman and carried out with one of the earliest all-Black regiments of the Union Army, is now recognized as the most successful military operation of the Civil War led by enslaved people.
The Picturing Freedom exhibition marks the first time this historic event has been explored through a major museum experience. The show features more than a century of artwork honoring Tubman, alongside archival images, rare historical artifacts, and environmental photography of the South Carolina rice swamps by J Henry Fair. These deadly tidal swamps, where enslaved people were forced to labor, also became the treacherous terrain of their courageous escape.
Guest curated by Dr. Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, Director of the Hampton University Museum, the exhibition reflects on why artists continue to depict Tubman and the Combahee River as enduring symbols of freedom. Multimedia displays include video reenactments and testimonials from descendants of the 756 enslaved people who escaped that night, giving names, faces, and stories to those often erased from the historical record.
The exhibition draws inspiration from Dr. Edda Fields-Black’s groundbreaking book Combahee: Harriet Tubman and the Raid That Changed the Civil War, which was recently awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History. Her research, alongside artistic interpretation, reveals the full scope of Tubman’s leadership and bravery.
Running through October 5, Picturing Freedom invites visitors to experience this monumental yet often omitted chapter of American history—a story of courage, liberation, and the enduring fight for freedom.