RegalMag.com profiles former Rep. Robert Smalls (R-S.C.) for Black History Month 2025.
Despite the best efforts of some, Black History will remain undefeated.
To celebrate Black History Month, RegalMag.com will continue showcasing inspiring Black individuals who have made significant contributions to America, like Robert Smalls.
National Park Service said, “Robert Smalls was born in 1839, enslaved by a local planter in Beaufort, South Carolina. By the time he was 23 years old, Smalls had won freedom for himself and his family, and he was a famous war hero. He became a prominent leader in the community during the Reconstruction era, including service in both the state and national legislature. His story illustrates the transformative potential of Reconstruction throughout the southern United States.”
Small’s naval heroism aided the Union’s cause to abolish slavery.
However, the Confederate Navy used Small’s skillset first.
After the Confederacy won numerous Civil War battles, it seemed a certainty that slavery would remain the law of the land for people like Smalls.
Not willing to risk an entire life of servitude, Smalls decided to fight for his family’s freedom by any means necessary.
Therefore, on May 13, 1862, a group of African-Americans, including Smalls, captured the Confederate ship, Planter.
The group then turned the ship over to the Union.
For the duration of the Civil War, Smalls served on the Planter.
In 1863, he became the Planter’s captain.
Making his story even more remarkable is that he served in the United States House of Representatives during Reconstruction when African-Americans began making huge strides politically and economically.
Unfortunately, the immediate success that many African-Americans experienced after the abolishment of slavery led to 100 years of Jim Crow laws that stripped the recently emancipated slaves of their hard-earned victories.
The National Park Service added, “In addition to turning the Planter over to the United States Navy, Robert Smalls provided valuable intelligence on Confederate operations around Charleston Harbor. Using his vast knowledge of the waters there, Smalls served as a pilot on several naval vessels operating in action against Confederate forces there, including the Keokuk, an ironclad (ship) which was sunk by enemy fire in April 1863, injuring Smalls in the process.
“He was eventually promoted to captain and given command of the Planter. In 1864, Smalls took the Planter to Philadelphia to be overvalued and re-outfitted, and it saw service throughout the Civil War.”
The leadership skills that Smalls showed during the Civil War showed itself immediately after emancipation when he started a store for freed humans with Richard Greaves.
Smalls began to speak out for public education for emancipated slaves.
Three years after the original Juneteenth, Smalls became a delegate to the South Carolina state convention.
The state convention wrote a new constitution for the Palmetto State.
He pushed for free education to be included in the new state constitution.
The National Park Services said, “That same year he was elected to the state House of Representatives, and was elected to the state Senate in 1872. In 1874, as most areas of the South were falling back under White Democratic control, the citizens of Beaufort elected Robert Smalls to serve in the United States Congress. He eventually served five terms in the House of Representatives between 1875-1887.”
Born into enslavement on April 5, 1839, in Beaufort, S.C., many believe the Smalls was the son of an enslaved woman named Lydia Polite and her slave master, John McKee.
As a 12-year-old, the McKee family sent Smalls to Charleston, S.C., as a rented out or hired slave laborer.
The future congressperson began working on ships in the Charleston Harbor.
During the bloody Civil War, the Confederacy forced Smalls to work as a pilot on the CSS Planter.
That steamboat transported arms and ammunition.
During the takeover of the Planter, Smalls and the rest of the Black crew freed Smalls’ wife Hannah, daughter Elizabeth and son, Robert Jr.
The University of South Carolina’s website said, “They disguised themselves and, using the knowledge they had gained as maritime workers, sailed the boat past Fort Sumpter and Moultrie. Smalls surrendered the Planter to the U.S. Military, thus securing the freedom of everyone on the vessel. Smalls became the first Black man to become a pilot in the United States Navy. As the captain of the USS Planter, Smalls fought in 17 battles during the Civil War.
“While serving as a Representative of South Carolina, Smalls helped secure funding to improve the Port Royal Harbor and secured appropriations from the government for its use of The Citadel. Smalls also fought to secure full citizenship and equality for Black Americans. He resisted Jim Crow, opposing segregation of the United States Armed Forces, railroads and restaurants.”
The former slave became Collector of Customs in Beaufort upon retiring from Congress.
Smalls also purchased the old McKee home in Beaufort, S.C., where he and his mother were once enslaved.
The Smalls family lived in that home for close to a century after he purchased the property.
In an act of benevolence, Smalls allowed the matriarch of the McKee family to continue living in that home when she fell ill.
The Black History icon died on Feb. 23, 1915.
Smalls’ family laid him to rest at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort, S.C.
