The multimedia exhibit will immerse visitors in this daring military operation that liberated 756 enslaved people
Dr. Edda Fields-Black took to the fields in the deep, dark black. She rose, as her ancestors once did, at 4 a.m., under a full moon, to walk the same land as the enslaved would have along the Combahee River, the “C” of the Lowcountry’s ACE Basin. “I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face,” says Fields-Black, who was intent on getting a sense of what it might have looked like, what it might have felt, smelled, and sounded like back in June 1863 when enslaved people on the lower Combahee’s seven rice plantations would trudge to the rice fields before dawn.
She spent 18 months in residence at Nemours Wildlife Foundation in the ACE Basin so she could walk those fields for miles at time, observing the flora and fauna and the changes during shifting tides and seasons. This was her field research, literally, while writing Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War (Oxford University Press, February 2024).
Such firsthand, wet-feet research was a critical component of, and complement to, the academic’s years of archival and genealogical research. Though she found gold while mining troves of never-before-studied pension files of Black Civil War veterans, Fields-Black wasn’t satisfied with paper trails. She wanted to follow the physical footpaths and waterway passages, taking a midnight boat ride upriver, under a full moon, just like that night more than 160 years ago, when three Union steamboats snaked up the Combahee to deliver 756 enslaved Black people to freedom.
To tell the story of that night from the perspective of those involved—the brave soldiers and the enslaved who risked their lives fleeing bondage—“I needed to step on the same ground, to understand, as best I could, what it would have felt like for the people I was writing about,” says Fields-Black, professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University and noted scholar on rice culture and the transnational African experience, both enslaved and free, in relation to rice cultivation. And by all accounts—including the numerous accolades and awards the book is winning—Fields-Black has done that.
A vivid, pulsing sense of place animates the hefty, meticulously researched tome. Its weight, however, comes less from the volume of pages than from the formerly untold story’s impact on regional and national history. Here, in the heart of the ACE Basin, right in Charleston’s backyard, the Combahee River Raid was the most successful military operation of the Civil War and the largest slave rebellion in the continental US, an uprising orchestrated and led, in part, by Harriet Tubman.
A Union nurse-turned-spy, she and her ring of spies, scouts, and pilots infiltrated the plantations before the raid, found the enslaved men who were forced to mine the river with torpedoes, and oversaw the removal of the explosives, thus opening the Combahee for the mission. Tubman and her men then guided Colonel James Montgomery, the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, and 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery up the lower Combahee and onto the seven rice plantations.
“Tubman is a superhero,” asserts Fields-Black, but despite the cue-Scorsese, made-for-big-screen drama that Fields-Black describes unfolding that night, there is no movie and little mention of Tubman’s Civil War military service or the Combahee River Raid in most history textbooks. Before Combee, there was only one short book, published by The History Press in 2014, about the raid.
Just as she did the literal swampy legwork to help readers get a fuller sense of the story’s magnitude, Fields-Black and her collaborator, environmental photographer J Henry Fair, are further helping us visualize this dramatic tale of Tubman’s spy work and military service by bringing it to the Gibbes Museum of Art this month. In “Picturing Freedom: Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid,” Fair’s large-scale aerial photographs of the river and surrounding ACE Basin firmly ground the viewer in the magnitude of this landscape. The images underscore how beautiful this region is and, given the topography, how bold the raid was, how fearless the soldiers were, and how desperate the enslaved were to seek freedom. Fair’s images, alongside paintings, portraits, and artifacts related to Tubman and other historical figures, plus a video reenactment with Gullah Geechee consultant and performer Ron Daise, extend the work of Fields-Black’s book in painting the Combahee River Raid as a monumental moment in American history.
Wade In the Water by Stephen Towns (natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and crystal glass, 39 x 46 inches, 2020)
The idea for an exhibit grew somewhat organically, according to Fields-Black, as did so much related to uncovering the full Combee story. While researching the pension files, Fields-Black, whose family is from Beaufort and Colleton counties, was able to trace her own lineage back to a 2nd South Carolina Volunteers soldier who fought in the raid. Hector Fields, Fields-Black’s great-great-great-grandfather, liberated himself in Beaufort after the Battle of Port Royal and enlisted, but (before working with the IAAM Center for Family History) the family only knew his name—nothing about his life in bondage or his military service.
Equally by chance, Fields-Black met Ann Kulze, whose family owns Plum Hill Plantation. Kulze offered to host the author and introduce her to the other land owners along the river. Kulze also introduced Fields-Black to Fair, who had been photographing the Combahee and ACE Basin for 30 years. “Henry asked me what I was going to do for book illustrations, and I hadn’t even yet thought of that,” she says, but after seeing his work, the decision to include Fair’s photographs was easy. “The contributions Henry made to the book to help people visualize where the raid took place, especially since most of this land is now private property, was so important,” says Fields-Black. “It also underscored my sense that there was more that could be done with this, that there was another way to bring the raid to the public eye.”
When Fields-Black visited the Gibbes Museum in winter 2022 to see “Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice,” an exhibit that included an iconic Tubman portrait that now graces her book’s cover and served as
Fields-Black’s “mood board and inspiration piece before Combee was Combee,” she floated the idea of that “something more” with Gibbes president and CEO Angela Mack. “We immediately leapt on it,” says Mack. She and Gibbes curator Sara Arnold “realized how important the story was, and the potential for an exhibition, especially given the use of contemporary photography to help tell it. It was so wonderfully unexpected when we learned Edda and Henry were working together,” says Mack, who already knew of Fair’s work. (The Gibbes hosted a solo exhibition of his aerial photographs, “Industrial Scars,” in 2010 and owns a piece in its permanent collection.)
“Those of us working in the visual arts and art history always see things through images,” she adds. “We could visualize the opportunity to create something that told this story well through contemporary images mixed with historic objects and images. Combee is so tied to the land that you have to understand the topography and cartography to fully appreciate what the enslaved people accomplished—how their legacy and that of the raid have transformed the landscape.” The exhibit also places Tubman front and center, using art “to underscore the importance of her role in the raid,” adds Mack. “Her life story as a woman and her time in this region is still very much unknown.”
Dr. Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, director of the Hampton University Art Museum in Virginia, serves as guest curator for “Picturing Freedom.” “It was important to us to have an African American curator,” says Fields-Black. The depth of Thaxton-Ward’s experience—including her familiarity with the Lowcountry after a stint as director of history and culture at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island from 1987 to 1991—made her an easy choice, as did the richness of Hampton’s collection, which is contributing numerous pieces to the exhibit. “It was her suggestion that we think about family as a main theme—both Harriet Tubman’s family and the families of Combahee freedom seekers, as well as Tubman’s mission to reunite enslaved families,” notes Fields-Black. “Most of us know one dimension of her, but in addition to being a military spy and hero, she was a daughter, a wife, a sister, cousin, and auntie, and all these relationships influenced her actions.”
Thaxton-Ward aimed to do more than recreate the book as an exhibition. While a CliffsNotes version of Fields-Black’s exhaustive treatise might be nice, this isn’t it, or at least not exactly. “It was a fun challenge to find fine art and material culture, in addition to Henry’s photographs, that are worthy of the book but not a stand-in for the book,” she says. “We want to share the broader story of the river, of rice, and why Harriet Tubman needed to do what she did with the raid.”
For Mack, who announced her upcoming retirement shortly after “Picturing Freedom” was added to the Gibbes’ calendar, the exhibition feels simpatico with her objectives during her long tenure. “It’s really an exclamation point to what we did with the ‘Landscape of Slavery’ show [in 2008],” she explains. “Ultimately, what we try to do at the Gibbes is tell our story of this region and of the South and constantly make people aware that there are tremendous visual arts and compelling stories here, and this is surely one of the most compelling.”
(Left to right) Combee photographer J Henry Fair and author Edda Fields-Black at Rose Hill Plantation on the Combahee Rive; Tree Fantasy by Merton D. Simpson (oil on Masonite, 21 3/4 x 17 7/8 inches, 1951); During her lifetime, Harriet Tubman (pictured in 1911 at age 89) never received commendations for her service during the Civil War. On Veterans Day 2024, Maryland Governor Wes Moore posthumously honored her with the title of brigadier general in the Maryland Army National Guard. In January, the Army’s Acting Deputy General Counsel officially recognized Tubman as a US Army soldier; she was soon thereafter inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame.
Like Fields-Black, Fair’s ties to the Combahee run deep. He is a direct descendent of Nathaniel Heyward, a prominent plantation owner (though his land was not involved), and Fair’s father is a partner in property in the area. Based in New York and Berlin, Fair has spent much of his life making photographs about the environment, including the ACE Basin, documenting the serpentine riverscapes, a landscape forever changed due to the rice economy, the massive wealth it generated, and the institution of slavery on which it was based. “These were all motivating factors for this military operation, and thus for this exhibit,” Fair explains. He photographed new aerial landscapes for the exhibit, thanks to assistance from nonprofit aviation partner SouthWings, and the show includes some of his older works as well.
Fair’s work has long had a conservation bent, and in recent years, his lens has been increasingly focused on climate change and environmental justice. “Combee is a story that touches on the things that are most important to me,” says Fair. But it’s also a bit of a new direction, he adds, “which I quite like. ‘Picturing Freedom’ ties the environment and racism together. I also appreciate that it’s a hero narrative, not a victim narrative.”
In addition to filming the first-person reenactment of a man freed in the raid, Fair and Fields-Black have been videoing oral histories of descendants of the freedom seekers as a component of the exhibition, an aspect of the project they both have found incredibly meaningful. “Edda’s insight to dive into the pension files was brilliant,” he says. “We can now put a name on who many of these freedom seekers were, and families can identify their ancestors, which many never could before. This was a revelation to me,” he continues. “Knowing your history and place in the world orients and grounds you and gives a sense of security.”
Fields-Black agrees that the oral histories and family connections, including discovering her own, have been a revelatory part of the project. “I have been gratified by how the descendants of the Combahee freedom seekers have embraced me, the story, and the book,” she says. “Some families knew their history and had kept it alive by passing the stories down, and they tell me how validating it is now to see it in print. They have sought me out and lifted me up, including one descendant in Seattle who read the book, called the Carnegie Mellon history department, and demanded, ‘You have to give Dr. Fields-Black this message and have her call me—she needs to know we are here!’’’ Call them, she did. “From the West Coast to Wiggins, South Carolina, the Combee descendants are alive and well,” Fields-Black laughs.
The tale of Combee is that of a woman, Harriet Tubman; her group of spies, scouts, and pilots; the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers; and 756 men and women (they were all formerly enslaved), “who were willing to put it all on the line for freedom,” Fields-Black writes. If the raid failed and the freedom seekers were caught, theirs would have been “a fate worse than death,” and they knew this. Their drive to be free of bondage was fierce, and thus the Combee story negates the “lost cause” narrative that suggests the enslaved were loyal, grateful servants.
“This is a story about legacy,” suggests Fair. “Both the legacy of the people who are descended from the brave men and women who were liberated, and also, from my perspective, the important legacy of those freshwater wetlands that the enslaved created—the men and women, including the Combahee freedom seekers, who cleared out cypress swamps, made them dead-level, and built those dykes. That’s a massive feat,” he says.
Indeed, as Fields-Black’s book makes clear, the spy work of Tubman, the midnight military raid, and the hard labor of the enslaved were all massive feats. “Picturing Freedom” gives viewers a clearer view of just how massive they were and challenges us to decide how we, in turn, will honor these legacies.
(Left) Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War (Oxford University Press, February 2024); (Right) Three Freedom Fighters by William H. Johnson, (oil on paperboard, 41 ½ x 33 ⅜ inches, circa 1945)
Bringing Home the Gold
“Combee has taken on a life of its own,” says author Edda Fields-Black, who has spent the last year traveling the country on a book tour and appearing on numerous podcasts and talk shows. As she, J Henry Fair, and exhibit curator Vanessa Thaxton-Ward bring the story to the Gibbes, the book is headed for a second printing—and this time the cover will include a new gold seal. Combee recently received the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or the American Civil War era. Other award announcements are pending as this feature goes to press. “I’m excited to get some book bling,” Fields-Black says. “I love jewelry!”
Combee’s acclaim:
WINNER of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize
WINNER of the 2024 Marsha M. Greenlee History Award
SHORT LIST for the Mark Lynton History Prize
FINALIST for the South Carolina Historical Society’s George C. Rogers Jr. Award
“The Best Nonfiction Books of 2024,” Bloomberg.com
“Also Recommended” among the “Best Books of 2024,” The New Yorker
“Best Civil War Books of 2024,” Civil War Monitor
“Top 10 History Books: 2024,” Booklist
“Picturing Freedom: Harriet Tubman & The Combahee River Raid”
May 23 - October 5, 2025
This multimedia exhibition allows visitors to immerse themselves into the dramatic events of June 2, 1863, when Harriet Tubman guided three Union steamboats up the river and helped deliver 756 enslaved people to freedom. Contemporary and historic art objects, J Henry Fair’s landscape photographs, and video works interpret the groundbreaking research in Dr. Edda Fields-Black’s book, Combee, offering new perspectives on Tubman, the environmental challenges faced by the enslaved, and the importance of the Lowcountry’s historic rice fields on our coastal wetlands. Visit the museum website for information on the opening reception, as well as additional lectures and programs.
Gibbes Museum of Art, 135 Meeting St. gibbesmuseum.org
WATCH: The Combee Raid Exhibit
Images by (moonrise over the combahee river) J Henry Fair with flight support from Southwings & Courtesy of (linocut) the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, Virginia, ©2025 Mora-Catlett Family/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society, New York; (fair & fields-black) Dirk Vandenberk; Courtesy of (Tubman & Illustration) Library of Congress; photographs (2) by J Henry Fair; (alligator) J Henry Fair & courtesy of (book cover) Oxford University Press; image (Three freedom fighters) a Gift of the Harmon Foundation Courtesy of the Hampton University Museum Collection, Hampton, Virginia; images courtesy of (stereograph) College of Charleston Libraries; (painting) Gibbes Museum of Art; Photographs courtesy of (sculpture) The Tubman Museum, Macon, Georgia, & (Thaxton Ward) Hampton University Art Museum; photographs (2) by J Henry Fair with flight support from Southwings; (Gibbes Museum of Art) JB Mccabe & courtesy of (Tubman) Library of Congress
