Born April 5, 1839
Beaufort, South Carolina
Died February 22, 1915
Beaufort, South Carolina

Union Navy pilot and one of the
first black U.S. congressmen

Made a dramatic escape from slavery
by stealing a Confederate Navy ship

Robert Smalls's escape from slavery was "one of the coolest and most gallant naval acts of war."

Union admiral Samuel DuPont

Robert Smalls. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

In 1862, Robert Smalls stole a Confederate supply ship and turned it over to the Union Navy. What made this feat even more remarkable was the fact that Smalls was a slave. His dramatic escape from slavery brought him wide acclaim in the North as a Civil War hero. After the war ended, Smalls became an important black leader during the difficult period of American history known as Reconstruction (1865–77). He overcame discrimination to serve five terms in the U.S. Congress as a representative...