Robert Smalls, Civil War Hero

It was 1862 and for almost a year, Robert Smalls had been assigned to steer the CSS Planter, a Confederate Ship.

Tired of slave life, he plotted an escape.

His chance came on May 12th. As the 3 white officers aboard the ship decided to spend the night ashore, Robert and a few other slave men capitalized.

Robert put on the captain’s uniform, took helm of the ship, picked up his family and the families of the other men, then steered the ship out of the Confederate harbor where they surrendered to the U.S. Navy.

For the Union, getting access to this ship was critical, as aboard was the code book containing the Confederate signals, and a map of the mines and torpedoes that had been laid in Charleston’s harbor.

Robert and his men were rewarded for their action. He got to meet President Lincoln. But their greatest reward was their actions, which became a major argument for permitting African Americans to enlist in the Union Army.

After the war, Robert would co-found the South Carolina Republican Party. Then then he would go on to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.