You may have known that African Americans fought in the Civil War.
But do the you know the man who convinced Abraham Lincoln to make this decision? Robert Smalls, a ship pilot and sea captain, took control of a Confederate transport ship and sailed himself, his crew, and his family to freedom. Afterwards, he fought in the Civil War and became it’s first African-American hero.
Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina.
At first, Smalls had an easy life and didn’t understand how cruel slavery was, so his mother had him spend time on the planation so he could see the truth. This led Smalls to challenge the town’s slave laws, which caused him to be put in and bailed out of prison multiple times.
Fearing for his safety, his mother asked Henry McKee, the planation owner’s son, to let Smalls work in Charleston. It was at Charleston’s harbor that Smalls first went to work …show more content…
After he convinced Lincoln to let African-American men fight in the war, he recruited nearly 5,000 of them into the Union Army, and they all fought vigorously.
Smalls also fought on the CSS Planter while he served as it’s pilot and, with this experience, became the pilot of the USS Keokuk, an ironclad gunship. Finally, Smalls helped the Union forces in navigating Confederate waters, deactivating mines and guiding ships to Confederate outposts. All of these heroic actions earned Smalls the title of the first African-American hero of the Civil War.
Robert Smalls was one of the bravest African Americans during the Civil War. He sailed a Confederate ship past five Confederate gun batteries. He freed thousands of African Americans and recruited them to fight for his cause. He even went back into the Confederate waters to help the U.S. Navy capture the harbors within them. It was Smalls’s bravery that inspired many other enslaved African-Americans to fight for their freedom as
But do the you know the man who convinced Abraham Lincoln to make this decision? Robert Smalls, a ship pilot and sea captain, took control of a Confederate transport ship and sailed himself, his crew, and his family to freedom. Afterwards, he fought in the Civil War and became it’s first African-American hero.
Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina.
At first, Smalls had an easy life and didn’t understand how cruel slavery was, so his mother had him spend time on the planation so he could see the truth. This led Smalls to challenge the town’s slave laws, which caused him to be put in and bailed out of prison multiple times.
Fearing for his safety, his mother asked Henry McKee, the planation owner’s son, to let Smalls work in Charleston. It was at Charleston’s harbor that Smalls first went to work …show more content…
After he convinced Lincoln to let African-American men fight in the war, he recruited nearly 5,000 of them into the Union Army, and they all fought vigorously.
Smalls also fought on the CSS Planter while he served as it’s pilot and, with this experience, became the pilot of the USS Keokuk, an ironclad gunship. Finally, Smalls helped the Union forces in navigating Confederate waters, deactivating mines and guiding ships to Confederate outposts. All of these heroic actions earned Smalls the title of the first African-American hero of the Civil War.
Robert Smalls was one of the bravest African Americans during the Civil War. He sailed a Confederate ship past five Confederate gun batteries. He freed thousands of African Americans and recruited them to fight for his cause. He even went back into the Confederate waters to help the U.S. Navy capture the harbors within them. It was Smalls’s bravery that inspired many other enslaved African-Americans to fight for their freedom as