Smalls, Robert
1839-1915 · Contribution: 1862-1866
Military & Safety
Commandeered the Confederate steamship CSS Planter in Charleston Harbor in May 1862, freeing himself, his family, and twelve other enslaved people and delivering the ship to the Union Navy, becoming the first African American captain of a U.S. military vessel
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1839-1915
- Category
- Military & Safety
Impact on the world
Smalls turned his own daring escape from slavery into a strategic and symbolic blow against the Confederacy, advancing the case for Black enlistment.
Sources
- National Park Service
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