author
Robert Smalls
1839–1915
Born into slavery and remembered for one of the Civil War’s boldest escapes, he turned courage at sea into a long public life in South Carolina and Washington. His story moves from wartime heroism to hard-won political leadership during Reconstruction.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839, Robert Smalls was enslaved as a child and later worked in Charleston’s harbor, where he learned the skills that would change his life. In 1862, during the Civil War, he led his family and other enslaved people to freedom by taking the Confederate transport Planter through Charleston Harbor and delivering it to Union forces. The feat made him widely known, and he went on to serve the Union cause as a pilot and captain.
After the war, Smalls built a remarkable public career. He served in the South Carolina legislature and later in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming one of the most important Black political leaders of the Reconstruction era. He was also active as a businessman and newspaper publisher, working for civil rights and public education while defending the political gains of formerly enslaved people.
Smalls spent much of his later life in Beaufort, where he became a lasting local and national figure. He died there in 1915, but his life is still remembered as an extraordinary example of bravery, leadership, and determination.