How precious is freedom to you? What lengths would you go to in order to preserve your freedom? Today’s episode is about a man who put everything on the line to gain freedom for himself, his family and his crew. Join us as we tell you the story of Civil War hero, Robert Smalls.
As a person who has taught history for many years, I am very aware of the current discussion concerning what gets taught to our students. People across the spectrum have different ideas about what we should teach our children particularly when it come to United States history. State Boards of Education across the country are grappling with this issue.
There are those people who appear to want to focus primarily on the bad things that this country has done. They seem to feel that the nation’s mistakes have too often been swept under the rug, and that populations who have historically suffered are minimalized in the retelling of our national story. On the other hand, there are those people who only want to focus on the good things that the nation has done. They want our history to be told as a continuing list of great accomplishments.
In my opinion the problem with both of these approaches, focusing on only the bad or only the good points is that neither one gives a complete picture of the truth. For example, our nation during WW II did an astonishing job of mobilizing people and materials for the war effort. As men were called into the military, millions of women stepped up and did the hard work in the factories building planes, tanks, ships, and weapons of war. Countless stories can be told of the courage of brave soldiers storming the beaches of Sicily, Anzio, Normandy, Iwo Jima, and dozens of other places that most Americans had never heard of. There is much to be proud of. However, at the same time, American citizens of Japanese descent were denied their lawful rights. Many lost their homes and businesses as their families were forced to relocate to isolation camps. The military itself was still segregated up until the end of WW II. Numerous accounts were noted of African American soldiers who had served courageously in Europe and the Pacific being lynched while still in uniform upon stepping off the bus when arriving back on in the southern states. You see, the whole truth isn’t always comfortable, but it’s always important for our understanding of our past.
I bring all of this up because today’s episode contains some of those uncomfortable truths from our nation’s past, but it also is a story of bravery and courage and admirable strength. We are going to learn about a very remarkable man named Robert Smalls. Even though I had taught history for many years I had never heard of this man up until a couple of months ago when my wife and I took a brief trip to a place that I had always wanted to visit, Charleston, South Carolina. We’ve done a few stories about Charleston, remember the Mermaid Riot? It is a beautiful and very historic city, one of the oldest in the U.S. going back to 1670. As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite things to do in a new city is to get a walking tour hosted by a local. Through walksofcharleston.com we met a local guide named Dennis Mardis. I would call Dennis the King of Tour Guides! He gave us a most remarkable tour through the oldest part of the city.
I was curious if the people of Charleston had tried to gloss over the more uncomfortable parts of their history. It was the port of entry for nearly 40% of all slaves entering the U.S. But as Dennis led us through the tour, he made it clear that slavery was completely enmeshed with the fabric of the city’s history, sometimes literally. Many of the city’s streets and buildings are constructed of red bricks which were made by slave women and children. In several locations you can see the handprints of slave children embedded in the bricks. There is no glossing over it. In addition to touring historic buildings, churches, and cemeteries Dennis led us to a table where several African American women were selling handmade baskets beautifully designed with patterns that had been passed down to them from their African ancestors. I got the sense that Charleston was trying hard to accept and make peace with its difficult past.
Near the end of the tour Dennis led us to the waterfront. He pointed out various sites in the harbor including Ft. Sumter which saw the first shots of the Civil War. Next to a tree by the water Dennis pointed to a plaque that briefly told the story of Robert Smalls. It was such an intriguing story that I felt compelled to investigate it further. After our tour with Dennis, we visited the Slave Mart Museum which was located in the building where slaves had been auctioned. I located in the gift shop a book called Be Free Or Die which detailed the fascinating account of Robert Smalls. This book was written by a very talented young author named Cate Lineberry. We are very grateful here at Remnant Stew to Ms. Lineberry for granting us permission to quote directly from this excellent book. So here now is the extraordinary story of Robert Smalls.
Robert Smalls was born on April 5 1839 in the town of Beaufort, South Carolina. His mother, 43 year old Lydia Polite, gave birth to him, alone, in her sparse slave quarters. Her living quarters were hidden behind an elegant white frame house that was shaded by live oaks with moss hanging down like holiday tinsel. The peaceful setting gave no clue to the anguished lives of the people forced to work there as slaves. As Lydia brought her son into the world, she knew that he, too, would live a life entirely dictated by someone else.
At the time Robert Smalls was born, Beaufort was the largest town on the coast between Charleston and Savana. It was a wealthy town that boasted several schools, a college, a jail, a large library, and several churches. Steamboats announced their arrival with high-pitched whistles bringing in supplies, mail, and visitors, as well as hauling out vast quantities of cotton, indigo (a blue dye), and rice. Beaufort also possessed a heavily stocked arsenal and a regular slave patrol that was dedicated to protecting the white population in case of a slave revolt. White townspeople feared a slave rebellion as much as, if not more than any fire or plague. One reason for this fear was that the slave population outnumbered the white by a ratio of at least ten to one.
One year-round resident of the town was 27-year-old Henry McKee. He owned the elegant white framed house on Prince Street and its slave quarters where Robert Smalls was born. McKee also owned Lydia who served as his house slave. Although McKee was a relatively kind master, he was nonetheless a master who had to be obeyed, even though Lydia had helped to raise him. As Lydia’s baby, Robert also became McKee’s property just as all enslaved children belonged to their mother’s owner. Along with his vast plantations, McKee had inherited Lydia and some sixty other slaves when his father passed away.
As house slaves, Lydia and Robert enjoyed privileges that were denied to other slaves. They had some freedom of movement and were allowed to till a small patch of ground to raise food to eat or sell. But the future was always uncertain. It was very common for slave families to be split up as masters often sold some family members to other slave holders. Lydia wanted Robert to be aware of this. One Saturday she took him to see a slave auction in the town square. Women wailed uncontrollably as their husbands or sons were sold. On another occasion, Lydia took Robert to the Beaufort jail to see a slave being whipped. Despite the horror of it, she wanted her young son to understand the lives filled with pain and suffering that most enslaved people endured.
As Robert grew, he showed a keen intellect. Though it was illegal for slaves to receive an education, McKee gave Robert the opportunity to learn skills that could enhance his ability to be a valuable asset to him or any future owner, and also give Robert better opportunities within the slave hierarchy. He was smart, capable, and well liked by the McKee family.
In 1851, for reasons that are not entirely known, McKee sent the 12 year old Robert Smalls to work in Charleston. The money Robert earned would go to McKee except for $1 per month which he let Robert keep. When Robert arrived in Charleston he encountered a bustling port city that liked to flaunt its wealth and aristocratic traditions. From waterfront mansions to Georgian townhouses the homes of Charleston’s wealthy reflected their owners and the fortunes many had made from the sweat of enslaved people. Importing slaves from Africa had become illegal since 1808, but the buying and selling of enslaved people already in the country remained a brisk business. Naked men, women, and children were sold in open slave markets as potential buyers evaluated them as if they were livestock. Sellers would fatten up and even grease the skin of slaves to make them appear healthier.
Robert Smalls stayed in slave quarters at the home of Henry McKee’s sister in law Eliza Ancrum, but he did not work here. Instead he found work as a waiter at the Planters Hotel. The Ancrum’s slaves likely informed Robert of the unique rules of being a slave in Charleston. At 8:50 each evening a drummer would stand outside each of the city’s police stations and drum out a ten minute warning. All slaves had to be off of the street by the time the church bells struck 9:00 p.m. In addition, any slave who held a job in the city had to wear a metal tag stating their name and the place where they were employed. Anyone who violated these rules was arrested and sent to the notorious Work House where severely cruel punishments were issued.
After working as a waiter for awhile Robert took a job as a lamplighter. In 1846 The Charleston Gas Light Company had installed gas lights in glass globes to light the city’s streets. Many of these same gas lights still exist today. Robert’s job was to clean the globes and remove soot from the jets in the morning and then light the lamps in the evening. This job gave Robert a good measure of independence.
By the time Robert was a teenager Charleston’s waterfront was calling him. With McKee’s permission Robert began working as a stevedore, loading and unloading cargo from various ships. The docks teemed with a mixture of free blacks, enslaved blacks, and Irish immigrants exposing Robert to new people, ideas, and opportunities.
He secured a new job driving the hoisting horses that helped load and unload vessels. His employer was a white man named John Simmons. Simmons clearly valued Robert’s work ethic and was fond of him. Simmons taught Robert how to make rope lines and sails, and eventually hired him as a sailor on a local schooner. With these new positions came higher pay, most of which went to McKee, but he increased the amount that Robert could keep each month.
By the time he reached age 17, Robert felt flush enough to take on a wife. He married Hannah Jones an enslaved woman in her thirties. Hannah’s master hired her out to be a washer woman and a maid. Robert later said, “My idea was to have a wife to prevent me from running around.” Slaves could not marry legally, but owners could grant permission for an unofficial service, and doing so was often in their best interest. Granting permission to marry helped the morale of the slaves. It also eventually added to their wealth since any children of enslaved women became the master’s property. Male slaves with families were also less likely to run away. The ceremony took place at Christmas in 1856 at Henry McKee’s home in Beaufort and was attended by Robert’s mother Lydia who still was owned by the McKee family. She remained a central figure in Robert’s life. After the wedding Robert and Hannah returned to Charleston and tried to build a life together despite their lack of freedom. After two years their first daughter, Elizabeth Lydia, was born.
With the birth of his daughter, 19 year old Robert Smalls grew more concerned that his family might be separated, and he became desperate for a way to protect them. He boldly approached Hannah’s owner and asked him if he would sell Hannah and Elizabeth to him. The owner agreed to sell them, but the price was high, $800. It was difficult, but not impossible for slaves in Charleston to accumulate money. Hannah took to washing sailor’s shirts and Robert took on extra work when he could find it. Slowly their savings began to grow, but it would still likely take several years to save $800, and even if they did, Robert himself would still belong to Henry McKee. Still, he wanted to do whatever he could to protect his wife and children. More and more he began to entertain the idea of escaping with his family.
In April of 1860 the National Democratic Convention met in Charleston for the purpose of selecting their candidate for president. There was a good deal of excitement as delegates gathered, however the excitement quickly turned to tension over an argument about the expansion of slavery to new states out West. The party quickly divided into Northern and Southern factions. The Southerners wanted a plank in the party’s platform that stated continued support for the institution of slavery, but Northern delegates refused. This prompted the Southern delegates to walk out of the convention leaving the remaining delegates unable to secure the 2/3 majority needed to select a nominee. In effect, the Democratic Party split over the issue of slavery.
Northern Democrats reconvened in Baltimore and selected Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas as their nominee. Radical pro-slavery Democrats met in Richmond, Virginia, and selected John Breckinridge. The brand-new Republican Party met in Chicago and nominated Abraham Lincoln. But wait, there’s one more, the Union Party which argued for compromise to keep the nation together met in Baltimore and nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Bell was a slave owner but was against expanding slavery into the West. Americans were so divided over slavery that they had four presidential candidates! At the time, 152 electoral votes were needed to win the presidential election. With so many candidates splitting the vote, Lincoln won with 180 electoral votes and about 40% of the popular vote.
South Carolinians were furious at the results, believing that Lincoln was hostile to slavery and a threat to their way of life. Almost immediately an outbreak of secession fever hit the state and six weeks after the election, Charleston hosted the state’s secession convention where delegates voted unanimously to leave the Union. White Charlestonians erupted in celebration at the news.
You know, I’ve heard some folks try to make the argument that the Civil War wasn’t really about slavery. I find it pretty hard to support that argument seeing as how the slavery issue caused the Democratic Party to split which led to Lincoln’s election which then led to South Carolina seceding. It seems that slavery was pretty central to the event.
About four miles out from the Charleston waterfront lies Ft. Sumter. This coastal island defense fortification had been constructed soon after the War of 1812 as protection from foreign threat. By the time Lincoln took office in March of 1861 the U.S. soldiers at Ft. Sumter faced a different kind of threat, that being from the South Carolina Militia. Union troops at Ft Sumter were in dire need of food and supplies, and the Confederacy’s anger at the continued occupation of the fort was growing. As the situation escalated during the next month, Lincoln announced that he would send provisions to Fort Sumter which infuriated the Confederacy. They ordered the Federal troops to surrender, but the commander refused. Thus, on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War on Ft. Sumter. People in Charleston were able to see the attacks from their homes. After two days of bombardment, the Union commander Robert Anderson agreed to withdraw his troops. On April 14, 1861, the U.S. flag was lowered, and the Union troops left Ft. Sumter.
Robert Smalls almost certainly watched the attack and the many celebrations that erupted in Charleston’s streets during the next few days. Seeing the Confederates rejoice at their victory may have strengthened his resolve to act. In February of 1861 Robert and Hannah had their second child, a boy named Robert Jr. The couple still had not earned enough money to buy Hannah and Elizabeth. Their owner now might likely raise the price with the addition of Robert Jr. The couple continued to save as much as they could in hopes of keeping the family together. That same year a new opportunity for work presented itself. In June of 1861 Smalls was hired to be part of the crew of The Planter, a Confederate ship.
That same summer, the first major battles of the Civil War were not going well for the Union. The Confederate victory at the Battle of Bull Run was a wake-up call. Later that summer Congress authorized the Confiscation Act which allowed the Union to seize any slaves used to aid the rebellion. It meant that slaves seized by the Union were no longer obligated to their former masters. This was the first step towards emancipation.
By the fall of 1861 Smalls was a tested member of the Planter’s crew. The vessel’s white officers had noted Smalls’ skills on the water and had promoted him to wheelman. This allowed him to gain valuable experience learning to steer the ship throughout the harbor. The Planter was engaged in transporting Confederate troops and weapons to the various defensive positions around Charleston. Smalls learned how to avoid sandbars, navigate the currents, and bring the ship safely into the docks.
That November the Union Navy made a successful invasion at Beaufort, South Carolina, Smalls’ original hometown. Union troops under Commander Frances Du Pont destroyed two Confederate forts at Port Royal near Beaufort and then quickly secured the area. This was the first major Union naval victory of the war.
With the area in Union control, Beaufort’s white citizens immediately fled the town and headed to Charleston. News of the Union victory quickly spread and was quite a shock to the residents of Charleston. One of the purposes of the Beaufort invasion was to give the Union a base from which to operate a naval blockade of Charleston harbor. Many Charleston residents braced themselves for a possible Union attack on the city.
Du Pont had not expected the white residents of the Beaufort area to flee and leave their ten thousand slaves behind. This left the Union forces with the dilemma of how to care for and protect the suddenly freed black population. They needed food, clothing, housing, and medical attention, but no plan was in place for providing these necessities. Since his arrival Du Pont had seen firsthand the toll slavery had taken on the former slaves. He had been raised in the border state of Delaware, but neither he nor his family owned slaves. Until he arrived in South Carolina he had been under the impression that enslaved people were treated humanely. His views quickly changed. In a letter to his wife Du Pont wrote, “My ideas have undergone great change as to the condition of the slaves since I came here had have been on the plantations. I have seen nothing that has disgusted me more than the wretched physical wants of these poor people, who earn all the gold spent by their masters in luxury. No wonder they risk being shot down rather than go back to their owners.”
ODDITY DU JOUR: On the Move
In 1907 the Central Union Telephone Company built a headquarters building on the corner of Meridian and New York Streets in Indiana. The company was bought out in 1929 by Indiana Bell who thought felt the old headquarters building was not big enough for their operations. The idea was to build a bigger more modern headquarters on that spot. The problem was that in demolishing the old building to make way for a new building would take a great deal of time and cause a lengthy interruption in the telephone services and that just wouldn’t do.
The architect hired to design the new building came up with an innovative plan. There was a vacant lot at 13 West New York Street adjacent to the current location, why not move the old building over there--all while continuing business as usual? And that’s just what they did.
Exact dates are a little sketchy but over a 30 to 34 day period the 11,000 ton, eight-story, steel-frame-and-brick building was lifted a quarter of an inch and shifted 52 feet to the south, rotated 90 degrees, then shifted again 100 feet to the west. Every six strokes of the jacks would shift the building three-eighths of an inch, moving it fifteen inches per hour. All the 600 workers within the building still reported to work every day.
The move was completed in November of 1930 without interrupting customer telephone service or business operations. Gas, heat, electric, water, and communication lines were modified before and during construction to add flexibility or length as needed.
The new seven story headquarters building was completed in 1932 and operations were moved there from the old building. That original building was demolished in 1963.
By the way the architect that managed to plan and execute this amazing task before constructing the new building was Kurt Vonnegut Sr, father to Kurt Vonnegut Jr, author of Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle and many other writings.
[Wikipedia, OpenCulture.com]
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Throughout the winter and spring of 1862 the war lumbered on, lasting much longer and taking a greater toll in dead and wounded than anyone on either side had anticipated. In April the two day Battle of Shiloh left 3,600 dead and more than 17,000 wounded. Meanwhile Robert Smalls was continuing to gain experience piloting the Planter around the harbor. He was also working on an escape plan.
The Planter had a ten-man crew. Three white officers oversaw seven enslaved crew members. The captain was a stocky man named Charles Relyea who enjoyed wearing a large straw Panama hat while onboard. While regulations stated that at least one officer had to always remain on ship, Smalls noticed that from time to time all three officers would leave the ship at night in order to spend time with their wives and families. He had overheard them saying that they had no worries about the crewmen because the enslaved blacks were certainly not capable of operating the ship on their own. One night when the officers were away one of the crew members jokingly took the captain’s large Panama hat and placed it on Smalls’ head. “You look just like Capt. Relyea!” they joked. This seemingly inconsequential moment sparked an idea. Wearing the Captain’s hat just might deceive the harbor guards if it were dark enough.
Smalls began working on his plan in earnest. He and the other enslaved crew members would need to take the Planter away from the dock on a moonless night. Hannah, Elizabeth, Robert Jr. and some of the other men’s wives and children would need to hide at a location up the Ashley River. The Planter would steam up the river to pick them up at the secret location, then ply back downstream toward the harbor. Everything would have to look like the ship was just on its normal routine. The women and children would have to go below deck and remain very quiet. Then the Planter would steam out into the harbor and toward Ft. Sumter. Upon passing the fort it would give the impression that it was going to dock at Morris Island which was another Confederate post. But instead it will shoot past Morris Island and out into the open ocean, hopefully before the sentries on duty took notice and alerted the artillery. Once in the ocean the men would raise a white flag over the ship and attempt to locate one of the Union ships that were blockading the harbor.
Simple plan, right? Actually, there were a thousand things that could go wrong. When Smalls told Hannah about his idea she wanted to know what would happen if he were caught. He did not hold back the truth. “All the men will be shot to death, and all the women and children will face severe punishment.” Hannah thought for a moment and then told her husband, “It is a risk, dear, but you and I , and our little ones must be free. I will go, for where you die, I will die.” Both were willing to do whatever it took to win their children’s freedom.
Next Smalls had to approach his fellow crew members. Sharing his plan with them was in itself a huge risk. Even talking about escape was incredibly dangerous in Confederate Charleston. If someone accidently revealed the plan, the whole group would pay a huge price. But Smalls could not operate the ship on his own. His only option was to recruit the men and trust them. He met with the crew in secret one night in late April or early May of 1862. Each knew the risk that they would be taking. The promise of freedom was so strong, and the thought of remaining in slavery so abhorrent that all the crew agreed to take part in the escape. They had to be ready to act whenever Smalls decided it was time.
On the afternoon of May 12, 1862 the Planter was ordered to steam to Cole Island in Charleston Harbor to pick up four cannons and several other large guns. The following day they were to deliver them to Fort Ripley which was under construction on another island in the harbor. With the cannons on board, Smalls decided that the time was right to seize the vessel. Not only would he be delivering a valuable Confederate ship to the Union, but also several desperately needed pieces of artillery. Smalls also noticed that the Confederate guard boat that monitored the entrance to the harbor was missing. He asked the captain where the guard boat was and was told that it had been sent for repairs. Smalls quietly let the crew know that they would make their attempt that night.
As nightfall arrived one of the three officers suddenly announced that he was going to stay on-board the steamer that night rather than go to his home as he had originally announced. Smalls and the rest of the crew went about their normal business as usual, but secretly they had planned to lock the man into his stateroom or kill him if necessary. Fortunately, the man changed his mind again and went ashore.
Time passed slowly during the night as they wondered what the next few hours would bring. They could not leave the wharf too early or they might raise questions about why they were on the water in the dark. If they left too close to dawn, someone on shore might discover that no white officers were on board.
Finally, around 3:00 a.m. the crew began preparations for leaving. They added wood to the fires and anxiously waited for the water in the boilers to heat. They would get underway as soon as they had enough steam. An unfortunate shift in the wind began blowing the smoke from their fires back toward the city. Charleston had suffered a terrible fire just five months before and the people were always on edge. Later Smalls wrote, “I feared that people would think there was a fire near the wharf.” The minutes ticked by and the men braced themselves for disaster, but no suspicious guards or curious citizens appeared. Relieved, they continued their preparations to depart.
When Smalls judged the time was right, he ordered the steamer to leave. The crew raised two flags: the stars and bars of the Confederacy and the Blue and White South Carolina state flag which displayed a palmetto tree and a crescent. Both would give the appearance of business as usual. A guard stationed nearby and a police officer both saw the ship leaving, but assumed that the vessel’s officers were in command.
The ship soon reached the wharf where Hannah and the others were hidden. “The Planter moved so slowly up to her place we did not have to throw a plank or tie a rope,” Smalls later said. All had gone as planned, and they were now together. With 16 people on board, and the women and children belowdecks, the Planter resumed her way back down river toward Charleston Harbor. Each rotation of the paddle wheels brought the group closer to realizing their dream, but they could not go too fast. Smalls kept a normal, steady pace to maintain the impression that the ship was going about its regular business.
After about two miles the Planter passed Fort Johnson. As they passed the well-armed fort, the crew scanned the batteries for any sign that their plan had been discovered. After a harrowing few minutes, they passed it without arousing any suspicions and continued east toward Fort Sumter and the main ship channel. Their early success must have helped settle their nerves, but their biggest challenges were still ahead.
Heading toward Ft Sumter, Smalls rang the engine room for more steam. This far out in the harbor, they could increase their speed without attracting any notice. However the men in the engine room took this as a sign that something had gone wrong. One of them later wrote, “When the call came for a full head of steam I was scared and so was the other man. We were both as scared as rabbits in front of a dog, and it was the same for everyone else too except for Robert Smalls. If he lost his nerve for a single minute no one noticed it.”
As the Planter picked up speed and steamed toward Ft Sumter, it passed several more boats. The first was a gunboat at anchor. Despite the potential danger, Smalls remained calm and simply saluted the gunboat with a whistle. Donning the captain’s huge Panama hat, Smalls continued playing his part and casually shouted greetings to the other ships in the pre-dawn darkness.
Around 4:15 a.m. the Planter finally neared the formidable Ft Sumter whose massive walls towered some fifty feet above the water. Ft. Sumter overlooked the main ship channel entering Charleston Harbor. To restrict access, the Confederates had constructed a floating log boom across the channel but left a narrow gap near the fort to allow blockade runners to slip through. Any vessel entering this gap had to pass directly under Sumter’s powerful cannons.
Those onboard the Planter were terrified. “When we drew near the fort every man but Robert Smalls felt his knees giving way and the women began crying and praying,” stated one member of the crew. As the Planter approached the fort, Smalls, wearing the captain’s Panama hat, pulled the whistle cord, offering two long blows and a short one. It was the Confederate signal required to pass which Smalls knew from earlier trips as a member of the Planter’s crew. In response, the sentinel on the fort’s wall reported the guard-boat going out. He didn’t know that the guard-boat was out of commission and had mistaken the Planter for it. The sentry yelled at the Planter, “Blow the Yankees to hell!” Smalls must have longed to respond with something hostile, but he stayed in character and simply replied, “Aye aye!”
After clearing Ft. Sumter the Planter continued at its normal speed through the main ship channel. “For half an hour we expected to hear the boom of a big gun at any instant, and when we finally got out of range and realized that we had actually escaped, there was more weeping and praying and singing of hallelujah songs” a crewman recalled. It was a moment they would never forget.
About this time back in Charleston Captain Relyea arrived at the harbor and discovered that the Planter was missing. Rather than sound an alert he set about asking questions to anyone who might have seen the ship. Had he alerted the guards immediately, they might have been able to signal the forts in the harbor. Of course many questions were asked of a lot of people in the investigation to come.
Once the Planter was out of range of Ft. Sumter’s guns, Smalls again ordered more steam and headed for the Union fleet. When the Planter did not turn east toward Morris Island, the guards at Ft. Sumter suddenly realized she was headed toward the Union vessels stationed off Charleston Bar. The sentries tried to signal the troops on Morris Island, but by the time they did, the Plante was too far away to be stopped.
Now Smalls and the others faced the heavily armed Union warships patrolling outside of Charleston Harbor. The groups freedom was within reach, but they had to let the Union know they were friendly before the Northerners mistook the Planter for an enemy warship and started firing. With steam and smoke belching from her stacks and her paddle wheel churning through the water, the steamer headed straight toward the closest Union ship. The crew rushed to take down the Confederate and South Carolina flags and hoisted white bed sheets as a sign of surrender. The Union fleet were very wary of ships coming out of Charleston. Recently ironclad Confederate ships had attempted to ram the sides of Union ships. The Union knew that ironclads were being built in Charleston. As the planter headed toward the Union fleet a heavy fog rolled in. This would make it difficult for their white flags to be seen. Even if they were seen, there was no guarantee that they would be believed.
The Planter began approaching a three masted Union clipper ship called the Onward. With wooden sides, the captain was quite wary of the danger of being rammed by an ironclad. It’s young captain, John Nickels of Maine decided that if there was any chance the fast approaching vessel intended to ram his ship, his only option was to destroy it first. He ordered his men to their battle stations.
Smalls and his crew saw the Onward’s guns being prepared. They were franticly looking for a way to signal the Union ship. Nickels was about to give the command to fire when he saw the white flags. He immediately ordered the gun crews to stand down. The ships were now within hailing distance. Nickels yelled for the Planter to come along its side. Smalls then spoke to Nickels. “Good morning, sir! I’ve brought you some of the old United States guns, sir, that were for Ft. Sumter, sir!” The men and women abord the Planter began jumping, dancing, and shouting in celebration. All sixteen were free from slavery for the first time in their lives.
Nickels soon boarded the Planter. The group of newly freed men immediately surrounded him and asked if he had an American flag he could spare. As the new flag was raised over the Planter the men and women began shouting with happiness. Hannah held Robert Jr. over her head and told him to look at the flag. “It’ll do you good!” she said. Smalls also turned over to Nickels a secret Confederate code book detailing flag signal messages. Nickels was shocked as he realized what Smalls and his crew had achieved and just how much their act would benefit the Union. The ship and the cannons were valuable assets that had been taken from the Confederates and added to the Union.
Back in Charleston the citizens awoke to the embarrassing reality that the Planter had been taken by a group of slaves. At first people simply didn’t believe it possible. It wasn’t until a telescope spotted the Planter lying between Union ships that all doubt was dispelled. Still, many believed that some white person must have aided in the plan. Suspicion fell on the three officers who had left the ship overnight. Word of the incident reached all the way to Robert E Lee who ordered that the officers be punished.
Meanwhile Smalls and the rest of the escapees on the Planter were escorted by Union steamers to the Union headquarters in, of all places, Beaufort, Smalls’ birthplace. Commander Du Pont was informed about Smalls amazing deed. “I must meet this hero!” Du Pont exclaimed. Just hours after making his escape, Smalls was meeting with the man in charge of the entire South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and telling his story. Du Pont was so impressed with Smalls that in his dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy he wrote, “This man Robert Smalls is of superior intelligence. His information has been most interesting and portions of it of utmost importance. I shall like to continue to employ him as a pilot on board the Planter for inland waters.” The chance to pilot the Planter for the Union Navy was a tremendous honor for Smalls, and one he would gladly accept.
Robert Smalls heroic actions were soon published in newspapers across both North and South. The South lamented Smalls’ bold feat, but the North celebrated it. The New York Tribune cited Smalls and his crew as evidence for creating black military regiments. Other newspapers promoted the idea that Smalls and the other crewmen should be compensated monetarily for their daring act. In time, this did occur. Smalls received enough compensation money to purchase the elegant white frame house shaded by giant oak trees on Prince Street in Beaufort which contained the slave quarters where he had been born.
Our limited time here is going to prevent us from filling you in on the many additional rich details about Robert Smalls life. For the remainder of the Civil War he bravely piloted the Planter for the Union Navy. On two occasions he was sent to the Northern cities to give speeches and raise funds to help provide for the needs of the former slaves in Beaufort. In Washington DC Smalls met President Lincoln and several member of the Cabinet. He made a positive impression everywhere he went and his speeches were always well received.
After the Civil War ended and South Carolina was readmitted to the Union, Smalls was five times elected as a United States Congressman. He continued working for the benefit of the former enslaved people. The difficult years of Reconstruction and then the Jim Crow era unfortunately did not generally result in much improvement for the black population of the South. But the bravery of Robert Smalls and the crew of the Planter in their quest for freedom continues to be a source of pride and inspiration today, some 160 years later.
Once again, we would like to thank Cate Lineberry for granting us permission to quote from her marvelous book Be Free Or Die. There is talk of a movie being made from this book, but don’t wait for the movie. Buy the book now and get the full inspiring story about Robert Smalls. We have only scratched the surface here today.
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Remnant Stew is part of Rook & Raven Ventures and is created by me, Leah Lamp. Dr. Steven Meeker and I research, write and host each episode along with commentary by our audio producer, Phillip Sinquefield. Special thanks to the rest of our team, Brandy Nichols, Judy Meeker, and Harbin Gould.
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