– On January 31, Congress passes the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery.
– Tubman arrives in Washington, D.C. to work with freed women and their children. In the spring, she is sent to Fortress Monroe as a matron of the hospital for Black soldiers.
– On April 9, the Civil War comes to an end when Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) surrenders. On April 15, President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865).
– In October, Tubman is violently ejected from a passenger train by a racist conductor on her way to Auburn.