Teach Secondary Issue 13.6

He began talking with the enslaved crew (except for one man he didn’t trust) and making plans to escape to the Union side of the Civil War and to freedom. On 12thMay 1862, the three white officers were preparing to leave the ship at Charleston’s Southern Wharf and spend the night ashore. Smalls asked the captain, Charles C. J. Relyea, for permission for the families of the remaining enslaved crew to visit them aboard that night. Relyea agreed, on the condition that all family members would be off the ship by the time of the evening curfew, when all Charleston residents needed to be inside their homes. Adaring escape Once the families were aboard, Smalls and the enslaved crewmembers seized their chance. The plan was explained to the families, who then pretended to return home, but instead went to hide on a steamer ship moored at Charleston’s NorthWharf. At 3am on 13thMay, Smalls and seven of the eight enslaved crew commandeered The Planter and set sail for NorthWharf to collect their families. Reaching the Union forces meant having to sail past six Confederate harbour forts, which would need to be convinced that Captain Relyea was still in charge, and that nothing strange was happening. So Smalls put on a captain’s uniform and a hat. He remained calm, sailing slowly past each fort in the dark at the normal distance. Each time, he gave the correct steamwhistle signals while impersonating Captain Relyea’s mannerisms, and was let through. After passing Fort Sumter in the final port, they changed course away from a Confederate harbour at Morris Island, and towards the fleet of the Union Navy. By the time the guards at Fort Sumter realised their error, The Planter was already out of range of their guns. The ship was then soon spotted by the Union ship USSOnward , which began preparations to fire upon them. Quickly, Smalls had the crew take down the Confederate flag and hoist up a white sheet to show their wish to surrender. He was then able to hand over The Planter , its cargo and vital intelligence about the Confederates’ naval security to the Union side. His plan had worked, and Smalls had gained freedom for his family, his crew and their families. Smalls subsequently became the first Black man to serve as a pilot in the United States Navy, before eventually being promoted to captain and given command of The Planter . He fought in 17 battles on the ship during the Civil War, winning prize money that enabled him to return to Beaufort in 1864, and buy the house of his former owner in an auction of property seized fromfleeing Confederate supporters. Anewcareer The 12 years following the war became known as the Reconstruction Era – a time when Americans tried to bring the Confederate and Union states together again and rebuild a society without slavery. Smalls now began his second career as an activist and Republican politician, after being arrested in Philadelphia for riding on a racially segregated streetcar. Smalls immediately rallied support for a boycott, which then led to the desegregation of public transport in Philadelphia in 1867. He was later elected as a South Carolina state representative in 1868, and became a state senator in 1872. In 1874 he was elected to the United States Congress, and went on to serve for five terms in the House of Representatives. During this time, Smalls fought for racial equality, campaigning against racial segregation in education, transport and in the armed forces. He retired fromnational politics in 1887, and was given the post of Collector of Customs in Beaufort, which he held for the next 20 years. A life celebrated After Smalls died on 23rd February 1915, his military and political careers, as well as the economic and social successes Beaufort experienced in the Reconstruction Era, were largely forgotten. In the 2000s, however, Smalls’ life and works began to be celebrated. His house is now a National Historic Landmark, and in 2017 President Obama issued an executive order that led to the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort, recognising Smalls’ contribution to American history. “ My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people, anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life. ” – Robert Smalls, 1st November 1895 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr Yinka Olusoga is an author, lecturer and course director of the BA in Education, Culture and Childhood at the University of Sheffield; Black History for Every Day of the Year is co-authored by David and Yinka Olusoga, illustrated by Kemi Olusoga, and is due for publication in September 2024 (Macmillan, £25) teachwire.net/secondary 61 H I S TO R Y