You've probably never heard of Robert Smalls and The Planter...
But it is a GREAT story and the ship is believed to have been found.
Wreck of Civil War ship commandeered by slave believed found off SC coast | Fox News
Search for ship once commandeered by Robert Smalls might be over | Local News | The State
Case made for site of Planter's remains – The Post and Courier
The basic story is this: Robert Smalls was a slave. He was used as a river pilot in the Charleston, S.C. area and was pressed into service by the Confederates during the Civil War. He served as pilot of CSS Planter, a Confederate gunboat. At the time, Charleston was probably the second most important city in the Confederacy and fairly bristled with shore batteries and other installations. The strength of its defenses were such that the city was never captured during the war, though the Union expended tremendous resources in attempting to do so. You may have seen the movie Glory. The climactic storming of Fort Wagner depicted in the film was just one incident in the siege of Charleston.
On the night of May, 13th, 1862, after the officers had left the ship, Smalls commandeered Planter. In a daring display of "brass" he then steamed several miles up river to pick-up his wife and children. He then steamed out of Charleston harbor, boldly passing himself off as the ship's legitimate skipper to several Confederate batteries as well as Forts Sumter and Moultrie.
He was welcomed by the US Navy and was eventually made master of USS Planter after it was incorporated into the Union Navy, becoming the first black man to captain as US warship. He participated in several actions during the war, including the Union's ill fated ironclad attack on Charleston in 1863. After the war, he became a United States Congressman.
Hopefully, the wreck will indeed be that of Planter.
Smalls' story is quite remarkable and, IMHO, deserves to be more widely known.
But it is a GREAT story and the ship is believed to have been found.
Wreck of Civil War ship commandeered by slave believed found off SC coast | Fox News
Search for ship once commandeered by Robert Smalls might be over | Local News | The State
Case made for site of Planter's remains – The Post and Courier
The basic story is this: Robert Smalls was a slave. He was used as a river pilot in the Charleston, S.C. area and was pressed into service by the Confederates during the Civil War. He served as pilot of CSS Planter, a Confederate gunboat. At the time, Charleston was probably the second most important city in the Confederacy and fairly bristled with shore batteries and other installations. The strength of its defenses were such that the city was never captured during the war, though the Union expended tremendous resources in attempting to do so. You may have seen the movie Glory. The climactic storming of Fort Wagner depicted in the film was just one incident in the siege of Charleston.
On the night of May, 13th, 1862, after the officers had left the ship, Smalls commandeered Planter. In a daring display of "brass" he then steamed several miles up river to pick-up his wife and children. He then steamed out of Charleston harbor, boldly passing himself off as the ship's legitimate skipper to several Confederate batteries as well as Forts Sumter and Moultrie.
He was welcomed by the US Navy and was eventually made master of USS Planter after it was incorporated into the Union Navy, becoming the first black man to captain as US warship. He participated in several actions during the war, including the Union's ill fated ironclad attack on Charleston in 1863. After the war, he became a United States Congressman.
Hopefully, the wreck will indeed be that of Planter.
Smalls' story is quite remarkable and, IMHO, deserves to be more widely known.
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