The Remarkable Life of Robert Smalls

History Talk, the history podcast from Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

In the early morning of May 13, 1862, several enslaved crewmembers of the Confederate steamer CSS Planter boarded the vessel along with their families. Taking advantage of the fact that their white officers had left the ship against regulations, they successfully maneuvered the ship through the Charleston harbor, past Confederate fortifications, and to the Union fleet blockading the city. The architect of this daring escape to freedom was Robert Smalls, whose leadership and courage would go on to make him important to the Union war effort and, afterwards, one of the most influential Black political leaders of the 19th century. Written by Paul McAllister. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/remarkable-life-robert-smalls. Podcast and video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.