It was an ordinary day. Reading about a young man by the name of Robert Smalls and his accomplishments during his lifetime. He was much like me except for a few small features...he was Black and a slave in South Carolina in 1839. Both Robert and his mother Lydia were slaves of a man named Henry McKee. When he turned 12 his mother persuaded Mr. McKee to send him to work in Charleston, South Carolina. She reasoned with Mr. McKee that he could bring back his wages from his job and give them to him. Robert began working at the Charleston docks were he learned just about every job on the ship where he worked. He could handle the wheel and pilot a boat by the age of 17. He met a young woman and they married when both were young. His plan was to earn enough money to buy his family out of slavery. Then the Civil War began and Robert found himself in the service of the Confederacy. He was placed aboard the CSS Planter which was a transport ship that also laid mines.
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| The CSS Planter |
He became the pilot and learned the ports of Charleston as well as the ports in the states of Georgia and Florida. The Union had formed a blockade seven miles off the coast of Charlston Harbor so Smalls formulated a dangerous plan. In 1862 he recruited fellow slaves on the ship and devised an escape plan. In May, the CSS Planter collected cargo of 200 pounds of ammunition and four large guns. During the night it was common for the white officers to depart the ship for better sleeping quarters while the Black crew remained on board. Small requested that the families of he and his Black crew members could have family visit with them. He was given permission. Their plan began when Smalls dressed in the captain's uniform and a straw hat and set sail, passing five forts along the harbor and right toward the Union blockade. The Confederate flag was lowered and substituted with a white sheet. Union officers boarded the ship and Smalls presented the ship and guns and asked for a Union flag to put on the mast. The leaders of the Union Navy were particularly impressed with the young Mr. Smalls who had also presented them with a Confederate codebook and detailed intelligence regarding troop locations and armament they had on location. Wasn't long before the union captured Coles island and held it until the end of the war. Mr. Smalls was featured in a few Union newspapers and the Navy paid him and his crew a bounty for delivering the ship and guns. He was also employed by the Union to help identify the location of mines that the Planter had laid in Charleston harbor. Robert Smalls was able to convince President Abraham Lincoln to allow Black soldiers into the Union forces. Mr. Smalls met with the members of Lincoln's Cabinet before speaking with Pres. Lincoln. The President was impressed with how Mr. Smalls told the story of the Planter and developed an appreciation and admiration for Robert Smalls. Soon after the President issued an order to raise 5,000 African-American troops. Throughout the war Smalls served on numerous ships as a pilot and eventually made his way back to the Planter. During one ship battle, Robert took command and evaded capture and was promoted to rank of Captain. He captained the Planter throughout the war and he and his ship were present when the U.S. flag was raised over Fort Sumter at the war's end. In 1897 a special act of Congress awarded him a pension equal to that of Captain.  |
| Congressman Robert Smalls |
Captain Smalls used his money to advance the Black community in South Carolina. He opened a store, owned and published a Black-owned newspaper and co-founded a Black-owned horse-powered railway. He also caused South Carolina to be the first state that offered compulsory free schooling for all races. In 1868 he was elected to the State House and served two years. He was then elected to the State Senate and served until 1875. He later was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving eight years across three terms for two districts. Humble Robert Smalls died at the age of 75 in 1915 from diabetes and malaria. School and Military locations in South Carolina have been named for him and in 2004 the U.S. Navy named a ship Major General Robert Smalls. It was the first ship named after a Black man. The plaque at his gravesite in South Carolina reads: "My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."  |
| The plaque at the gravesite of Robert Smalls |
Robert Smalls was certainly equal to the task! A true HERO! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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