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BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) -- A bridge over the Combahee River in Beaufort County now bears the name of an abolitionist who helped free hundreds of slaves.

The bridge over U.S. Highway 17 was named the Harriet Tubman Bridge in a ceremony over the weekend. The dedication comes 145 years after Tubman helped lead a Union raid of plantations along the river that historians said freed 750 slaves.

Historians say she came to the area a year eariler to help slaves who had been left behind as plantation owners fled the Union Army.

State Rep. Kenneth Hodges told The Beaufort Gazette he advocated changing the name to educate residents about Tubman's role in the June 1863 raid. Legislators approved the measure two years ago as work on the new bridge began.

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