For this weeks blog post I want to highlight the momentous life of Robert Smalls.
Smalls was born in 1839. His mother, Lydia Polite, was a slave. He spent is childhood in the city, where his mother lived as a servant to Henry McKee and the McKee family. Despite working as a servant during his childhood, his mother grew up working the fields–he didn’t. He was a favorite of the McKee family, which made his mother fearful that he might grow up not understanding the struggles of enslaved field workers. To rectify this issue, she asked for him to be put into work in the fields and she would force him to watch whippings.
Once he turned 12, he was sent to Charleston to work as a laborer for one dollar a week–the rest of the wage went to his master. He took on a number of jobs in Charleston, working in a hotel and eventually a lamplighter. However, he preferred working on the docks and wharves due to his love for the sea. He worked as a longshoreman, a sail maker, and eventually he worked his way up to become a wheelman [better known as a helmsman, but slaves weren’t allowed to hold that title].
On December 24, 1856, at age 17, Smalls married Hannah Jones, an enslaved hotel maid. She was 22 years old and already had two daughters. Together Smalls and Jones had two children of their own: Elizabeth Lydia Smalls [born 1858] and Robert Jr. [born 1861]. Robert Jr, however, ended up dying at age 2. Robert attempted to purchase freedom for his family–but the price was far too high for him to afford [$800].
In April 1861, the [American] Civil War began with the Battle of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Months later, in the fall of 1861, Smalls was assigned to the CSS Planter, a Confederate military transport. The Planter was expected to deliver dispatches, troops, and supplies and was under the command of Charleston’s District Commander Brigadier General Roswell S. Ripley. Smalls drove the Planter through the Charleston harbor and other areas along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
In 1862, Smalls began to plan an attempt to escape. He would discuss the idea with other enslaved people on the crew except one that he didn’t trust. He also would reveal his plans to members of his family on one of their permitted visits.
His plan was put into action around May 13 of 1862. Around 3 am on the 13th Smalls and 7/8 of his fellow enslaved crewmen attempted their plan to escape. The first stage in their plan required Smalls to disguise himself in a captain’s uniform. He sailed the ship past the Southern Wharf and stopped along the way to pick up his family and the families of the other crew members. He managed to steer the ship past five Confederate harbor forts without being caught or even suspected of any wrongdoing–and at around 4:30 am the Planter had sailed past Fort Sumter.
Eventually an alarm was sounded, but only after the ship had gotten out of gun range. Rather than attempt to go any further east, Smalls steered the ship straight towards the Union Navy fleet. At the same time the crew replaced the ship’s Confederate flags with a white bed sheet that his wife has brought aboard. The USS Onward eventually caught sight of The Planter and was preparing to fire until a crewman saw the white flag.
John Frederick Nickels, captain of The Onward then boarded The Planter. Small’s instantly surrounded the Planter and its cargo. He then asked for a US flag to simply. His escape plan was a success. He had also managed to pass a Confederate signal book along with a bunch of ammunition. Most valuable, however, was Smalls himself. He had a ton of intelligence and information that was incredibly helpful for the Union. In fact some of the intelligence he provided would allow Union forces to capture Coles Island with ease on May 20–just a week after his escape.
Smalls went on to contribute greatly to the success of the Union throughout the Civil War. At just 23 he had proved himself to be a valuable asset. The US Congress even passed a bill awarding Smalls and his crewmen prize money for the planter. Smalls, himself, received $1,500 [the equivalent of $38,885 today]. He continued to help serve the Union Navy with tremendous success. In fact, he was even made pilot of the ironclad USS Kekouk in 1863 and took part in the attack on Fort Sumter on April 7th of the same year. Later, in May of 1864, his contributions to the Union allowed for him to be named an unofficial delegate to the Republican National Convention. Finally, in December of 1864, he piloted the Planter in Savannah, Georgia where he aided William T. Sherman’s army. He then took part in the ceremonial resining of the US flag at Fort Sumter in June of 1865.
Following the Civil War he partook in a number of civil rights campaigns and business ventures. His wartime fame and incredible dialect allowed for him to have great success. One of his most impressive ventures was building a school for African-American children, after teaching himself to read and write over the course of nine months. He also founded a black-owned newspaper known as the Beaufort Southern Standard in 1872.
Politically, Smalls was a staunch Republican. He partook in a number of state ventures and was eventually elected to the US House of Representatives in 1874, serving two terms between 1875 and 1879.
Eventually Smalls passed away on February 23, 1915 at the age of 75. His death was caused by malaria and diabetes. There’s a monument near his burial that is inscribed with one of his most famous quotes: “My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life. [1895]”
Furthermore it is evident that Smalls contributed greatly to the success of the Union during the Civil War. His bravery and intelligence most be commended along with his dedication to equality and humility. He is not someone who is brought up nearly enough when we discuss the Civil War, so I truly hope that this blog shed some light on such a tremendous legacy.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading this post and about Robert Smalls’ life! I wish I had heard about him sooner and his contributions, and I can’t believe they were never mentioned in my history classes. He contributed so much during the Civil War and paved the way for many others. He was also not afraid to take risks even took congressional action, which I admire. As always, your writing managed to pack in a lot of information! Great job and I’m looking forward to next weeks post!
This truly is an incredible story, and one I’ve never even heard before! When I was reading the beginning I thought that the story was going to be tragic with Smalls and his ship getting caught, but I was amazed that not only did his escape plan work and Smalls saved the other crewmen and their families, but he then went on to be a hero in the civil war. And then his success drove him to inspire others by starting an African-American school, providing children with more opportunities for education. Thank you for sharing, and I’m looking forward to next week’s story!