Robert Smalls - Wikipedia
Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician who was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Robert Smalls - The New York Public Library
An escaped slave and a Civil War naval hero, Robert Smalls served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. While still a slave, Smalls was hired out on the waterfront and became an expert navigator of the South Carolina and Georgia coasts.
"The Hero of the Planter," New York Times, October 3, 1862
On May 12, 1862, Robert Smalls, an enslaved crewmember of the Confederate ship Planter, courageously seized both the ship and freedom. When the ship’s white crew went ashore to attend a party, Smalls collected his own family and those of the other enslaved crewmembers, who were hidden on nearby boats by prearranged plan.
Robert Smalls - National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Hoisting the white flag of surrender, Smalls offered the boat to the Union forces. Not only had he won freedom for himself, his family and twelve others, but Smalls had also given the Union a ship, weapons and important information about the Confederates' defenses.
Robert Smalls (Congressman) - NYPL Digital Collections
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Robert Smalls (Congressman)" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 18, 2025.
Robert Smalls. - NYPL Digital Collections
One of hundreds of thousands of free digital items from The New York Public Library.
Robert Smalls - Essential Civil War Curriculum
Born into slavery in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, Robert Smalls seized his and his family’s freedom by commandeering a Confederate ship, the Planter, in nearby Charleston in 1862. Smalls helped found the Enterprise Railroad Company of Charleston and South Carolina’s Republican Party.
THE HERO OFTHE PLANTER.; Public Reception of Robert Smalls at …
ROBERT SMALLS, whose famous escape and personal appearance we have already made familiar, replied in a very modest and touching address, recounting his desperate venture, and expressing the...
Robert Smalls: From Slave to War Hero, Entrepreneur, and Congressman
Jan 31, 2020 · Robert Smalls fought for the North during the Civil War, invested in the Southern economy afterward, and served five terms in Congress.
Biography: Robert Smalls · Project Reconstruction
The New York Public Library features a bulleted, biographical profile on Robert Smalls- a formerly enslaved man who later became a Congressman (R-SC) and businessman. Themes include: Smalls' naval experience, his escape from slavery by commandeering a Confederate vessel, his subsequent military service and achievements, education initiatives he ...