Fields-Black says it was the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history!
Dr. Edda Fields-Black, a Carnegie Mellon University professor, historian, author, and descendant of the very resistance fighters she chronicles, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History for COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid and Black Freedom during the Civil War, Carnegie Mellon reports. The recognition cements not only her scholarship but also the sacred labor of remembrance that went into telling a story the nation had yet to fully reckon with.
Published in 2024, COMBEE brings readers into the heart of the Combahee River Raid — a bold, coordinated military campaign led by Harriet Tubman in 1863 that freed 756 enslaved people. It was the largest rebellion of enslaved people in U.S. history, yet few outside of Civil War scholars had heard its full truth – until now.
“I am truly grateful to the Pulitzer board for recognizing the Combahee River Raid and Harriet Tubman, the Second South Carolina Volunteer, and the Combahee freedom seekers’ quest for freedom as a significant chapter in our nation’s history,” Fields-Black shared. “I am humbled to bring the untold stories and unheard voices of formerly enslaved people to life.”
This wasn’t just academic. For Fields-Black, it was personal. While doing genealogical research, she uncovered that her own family had lived and labored in bondage just miles from where the raid occurred. What began as a family search turned into an unflinching commitment to piece together the lives of those who fought for their own liberation and succeeded.
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Tubman is often remembered as the courageous conductor of the Underground Railroad, a symbol of bravery and resistance. But her work during the Civil War, especially as a spy for the Union Army, remains one of the lesser-known chapters of her legacy. Fields-Black’s COMBEE changes that. With precision and care, she lifts the voices of the people Tubman risked her life to free, many of whom she had never met, and whose dialects and cultures she could not fully understand. Still, she went back. Still, she fought.
The award-winning historian called Tubman’s actions “a supreme act of bravery,” reminding readers that the fight for liberation was not only about escaping chains, but about making sure no one was left behind. Her Pulitzer win is more than a personal achievement — it’s a national recognition that the stories of Black resistance deserve to be central in the telling of American history.
On the heels of the Pulitzer, Fields-Black also received the 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize for outstanding work on the Civil War era. She is being celebrated not only for the groundbreaking content of her research, but also for her ability to make history breathe.
“Dr. Fields-Black is unfailing in her commitment to uncovering and exploring layers of our past,” said Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian. “She is also unmatched in her ability to make this scholarship accessible and compelling to others.”
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, which celebrated the book’s launch in 2024, echoed the sentiment.
“Every future history book will need to borrow something from COMBEE to be considered as worthwhile,” said Executive Director Sony Ton-Aime.
In a time when history is often challenged, erased, or softened, COMBEE stands tall. It affirms that Black freedom stories are not just worthy of telling — they are essential to the soul of this country. And in honoring Tubman’s revolutionary act, Edda Fields-Black has ensured that the light of her leadership will continue to guide us, just as it did along the Combahee River.
Cover photo: Dr. Edda Fields-Black Awarded Pulitzer Prize for Groundbreaking Book on Harriet Tubman’s Combahee River Raid/Photo credit: Carnegie Mellon University