Little Known Black History Profile: Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls (Born April 5, 1839 - Died February 23, 1915) was an African-American born into slavery in Beaufort, S.C. During the Civil War, he became a ship pilot/captain and politician. Robert Smalls freed himself and others from slavery on May 13, 1862.

He led an uprising aboard the confederate transport ship, the CSS planter, in the Charleston Harbor and sailed it North to freedom. His feat successfully helped persuade Abraham Lincoln to accept African American soldiers into the Union Army.

Smalls authored State Legislation that gave South Carolina the first free compulsory public school system in the United States. (Source: www.atlantablackstars.com).