It's 1863. Harriet Tubman is facing one of the biggest - and most dangerous - challenges of her life. She has survived her master's lash, escaped from slavery, and risked her life countless times to lead runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Now she has a new role - that of Union spy!The outcome of a secret night raid deep into Confederate territory depends on the accuracy of the intelligence she and other black spies have gathered. Success will mean freedom for hundreds of slaves. Failure will mean death by hanging. You are about to enter the undercover world of African-American spies - enslaved and free - risking everything in the name of freedom. How were the Underground Railroad and slave songs used to pass secret messages? What were "contrabands" and "Black Dispatches?" What did Harriet have in common with the Secret Six and a maidservant in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis? You'll discover these answers and more as the action unfolds. Disguised as a vintage volume, this biography reads like an adventure story. The astonishing role Harriet Tubman played as a spy, a secret agent, a military leader and hero to thousands is told in the context of the Civil War and an era of brutal prejudice. Annotated endnotes, a timeline, index, epilogue, websites, reading list, archival images, maps and a spy code for readers to solve make this a high interest nonfiction favorite. Thomas B. Allen, author of the award-winning George Washington, Spymaster, has sifted through military and intelligence archives, diaries, and little-known memoirs from ex-slaves to bring to light new facts about the role Harriet and other black spies played in helping the Union win the war. This detailed account combined with powerful archival images supplemented with woodcuts by Carla Bauer, maps, a time line, footnotes, and extensive quote sources make this incredibly detailed account an excellent resource for report writing as well as an exciting true-life adventure.