28 Days of Little Known Facts About (Black) American History | Robert Smalls (21)

We are pleased to spotlight Robert Smalls in day twenty of our first annual 28 Days of Little Known Facts About (Black) American History

“Robert Smalls bravely risked it all for freedom”

Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. His mother Lydia served in the house of John McKee, her owner who was rumored to be Robert’s father. Compared to slaves in the field, Lydia and Robert faced less horrific conditions, and this worried Lydia. She wanted her son to see and understand the savagery and inhumanity of enslavement, so Lydia, with presumably the heaviest of hearts, sent Robert into the fields to experience true slavery, whipping posts and all. This education forever changed Robert, igniting within him a spirit of defiance and rebellion that would later lead to a covert, nail-biting escape to freedom.

At the young age of 12, Robert moved was shipped to Charleston, a harbor town on South Carolina’s coast, and his love of the sea drew him toward the docks. His status as a white man’s chattel notwithstanding, Robert proved himself as a worthy stevedore and seafarer, slowly gaining the trust of those holding him captive. His plan for freedom began to take shape in 1861, when Robert landed an assignment to steer the Planter, an armed Confederate steamship, and in May of the following year, he undertook a feat audacious and thrilling enough to make Jerry Bruckheimer or Robert Ludlum proud.

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About The 28 Day Campaign

This informational campaign: 28 Days of Little Known Facts About Black American History will see 540Blog share little known facts about Black Americans throughout history every day throughout the month of February. Those that were groundbreaking and history making but do not necessarily get the media attention and coverage.

Source(s): Black America Web