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Robert Smalls was born to Lydia Smalls an African American woman enslaved by Henry McKee who was most likely his father.

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At age 12, by strong request of his mother, Robert was sent to work in Charleston as a laborer for 1$ per week. He went from working in a hotel to becoming a lamplighter in his teen years.

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Robert's love of the sea led him to find work in Charleston harbor where he first got the idea for his miraculous escape.

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At age 17, Robert fell in love with and married Hannah Jones, an enslaved woman in Charleston.

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Hannah upon marriage, already had two children. Three years later Robert and Hannah had Robert, their first child together.

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Robert had a great intent to buy his wife and children's freedom but was not able to come up with the money.

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During the war, Smalls was assigned to steer the CSS Planter, a lightly armed Confederate transport ship.

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Smalls greatly took advantage of this job. One night while the white crew were sleeping he and his fellow African American Crewmen gathered them up and threw them off the boat.

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Fully loaded with guns and armament from a recent resupply. Smalls took total control of the CSS Planter, sailing Northbound. The only stop that he and his crew made were to pick up other slaves. Smalls even stopped and went inland to free his mother from slavery

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Fun Fact: Once in the North, smalls and his crew sold the CSS Planter to the Union and received a large sum of money for the ship and the guns on board.

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After the war, Smalls went into business with Richard Howell Leaves and opened a small store to assist freedmen.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls

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https://digital.scetv.org/teachingAmerhistory/documents/SmallsLetter.htm

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https://robertsmal.weebly.com/bibliography.html

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He became a popular republican politician in the north and worked to pass the 14th amendment.

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https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/21764

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https://blackpast.org/aah/smalls-robert-1839-1915

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thrilling-tale-how-robert-smalls-heroically-sailed-stolen-confederate-ship-freedom-180963689/