- Born:
- April 5, 1839, Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.
- Died:
- February 23, 1915, Beaufort (aged 75)
Robert Smalls
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Who was Robert Smalls?
Robert Smalls (1839-1915) was an American war hero and politician. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he was hired out in Charleston before being forced to work on the Confederate steamship CSS Planter at the start of the Civil War.
In May 1862, Smalls and other enslaved people took control of the ship, picked up their families, and surrendered it to a Union naval squadron, gaining their freedom and becoming a war hero. Rewarded for his bravery, Smalls became the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy when he took command of the USS Planter.
After the war, Smalls served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he advocated for civil rights. He spent his last years as a port collector in Beaufort.
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What is Robert Smalls best known for during the Civil War?
Robert Smalls is best known for his courageous actions during the Civil War. In 1862, he commandeered the Confederate steamship CSS Planter, successfully navigating it past Confederate checkpoints to deliver it to the Union Navy. This act of bravery not only liberated Smalls, his family, and other enslaved people but also provided the Union with valuable intelligence and weaponry.
Smalls's bravery led to him becoming the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy, commanding the USS Planter. He participated in numerous battles and played a role in the desegregation of Philadelphia's transit system after being removed from a streetcar because he was Black.
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How did Robert Smalls help the Union during the Civil War?
During the American Civil War, Robert Smalls heroically commandeered the Confederate steamship CSS Planter in Charleston Harbor on May 13, 1862. Smalls, along with other enslaved people, gained control of the ship, picked up his family and others, navigated through Confederate checkpoints, and surrendered the vessel, its armaments, and crucial documents to the Union Navy. This act of bravery not only liberated Smalls and his fellow passengers but also provided valuable intelligence and resources to the Union forces. Later, Smalls became the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy when he took command of the USS Planter in 1863, and he continued to fight for the Union throughout the war.
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How did Robert Smalls become involved in politics after the Civil War?
After the Civil War, Robert Smalls quickly became a businessman and entered politics. From 1868 to 1870, he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, and then in the state Senate from 1870 to 1874. Smalls was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving multiple terms between 1875 and 1887. In the House, he advocated for integrating U.S. Army regiments and supported equal accommodations for Black and white people on interstate conveyances. Later in life, Smalls spent his last years in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he served as port collector.
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What challenges did Robert Smalls face as an African American politician?
During his time as an African American politician, Robert Smalls faced significant challenges rooted in racial prejudice and political opposition. As a Black congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction, Smalls worked to integrate U.S. Army regiments and supported equal accommodations for Black and white people on interstate conveyances. Despite his efforts, Smalls was convicted on politically motivated charges and sentenced to prison in 1877, though later pardoned. His later attempt to prevent the disfranchisement of Black voters at the South Carolina constitutional convention in 1895 highlights the ongoing struggle against racial discrimination.
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How did Robert Smalls influence American history and civil rights?
Robert Smalls significantly influenced American history and civil rights through his courageous actions and political leadership. During the Civil War, he commandeered a Confederate ship to freedom, becoming a war hero and the first Black captain in the U.S. Navy.
Smalls' activism extended beyond the battlefield. In 1864, he led a boycott to desegregate Philadelphia's transit system after being removed from a streetcar because he was Black.
After the war, Smalls served in the South Carolina House and Senate before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he advocated for integrating U.S. Army regiments and equal accommodations for Black and white people on interstate conveyances. In 1895, he spoke against the disfranchisement of Black voters at the South Carolina constitutional convention.
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Robert Smalls (born April 5, 1839, Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.—died February 23, 1915, Beaufort) was an American war hero and politician who, during the American Civil War, commandeered a Confederate ship to escape from the South and later became the first Black captain of a vessel in U.S. service. He served multiple terms (1875–79, 1882–83, and 1884–87) as a congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction.
Smalls’s mother was enslaved, and his father was an unknown white man. In 1851 Smalls was taken by his enslaver to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was hired out to work as a hotel waiter, hack driver, and rigger. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he was forced to work aboard the steamship CSS Planter, which operated as an armed transport and dispatch vessel, carrying guns and ammunition for the Confederate army. On May 13, 1862, Smalls and other enslaved people on board took control of the ship in Charleston Harbor; he picked up his wife and children and others, succeeded in passing through Confederate checkpoints, and turned the ship, its cargo of weapons, and several important documents over to a Union naval squadron blockading the city. Smalls and the others on the Planter gained their freedom, and Smalls became famous as a war hero throughout the North.
In 1863, when he was piloting the ironclad USS Keokuk during the Union’s bombardment of Fort Sumter, the vessel took many hits and was eventually sunk. Smalls’s bravery was rewarded with command of the USS Planter later that year, making him the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy. He fought in numerous battles during the remainder of the Civil War. In addition, after he was removed from a streetcar in 1864 in Philadelphia because he was Black, Smalls led a boycott that led to the desegregation of the city’s transit system.
After the war, Smalls became a businessman, and he rose rapidly in politics. From 1868 to 1870 he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and from 1870 to 1874 in the state Senate. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served from 1875 to 1879, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1884 to 1887; among his notable actions in the House were his efforts to integrate U.S. Army regiments and his support of a bill that would have required equal accommodations for Black and white people on interstate conveyances. In 1877 Smalls was convicted of having taken a $5,000 bribe while in the state Senate, and he was sentenced to three years in prison, but the case against him was clearly politically motivated. He was pardoned by South Carolina’s governor in 1879.
Smalls spent his last years in Beaufort, where he served as port collector (1889–93 and 1897–1913). In 1895 he delivered an impassioned speech before the South Carolina constitutional convention in an attempt to prevent the disfranchisement of Black voters.
In 1997 the University of South Carolina founded an annual lecture series named for Smalls. The USAV Major General Robert Smalls was commissioned in 2007; according to the U.S. Army, it is the first Army ship named for an African American.