Robert Smalls and the Theft of the CSS Planter
Courage often demands seizing a fleeting opportunity at the risk of absolute destruction. Robert Smalls, an enslaved harbor pilot in Charleston, South Carolina, executed one of the most daring naval feats in US history. As a skilled pilot, Smalls thoroughly understood the treacherous waterways of Charleston Harbor and the complex whistle signals required to safely pass the heavily armed Confederate forts. He was conscripted to steer the CSS Planter, a heavily armed Confederate transport ship.
On the pre-dawn morning of May 13, 1862, the white officers of the Planter decided to sleep ashore, directly violating Confederate naval regulations. Recognizing his moment, Smalls and the enslaved crew quietly fired up the boilers. Smalls donned the captain’s wide-brimmed straw hat and heavy overcoat, disguising himself in the dim light. He navigated the ship to a nearby wharf to pick up his wife, children, and the families of his crewmates, then turned the vessel toward the open ocean.
To reach freedom, Smalls had to sail directly past Fort Sumter. Maintaining a terrifyingly calm demeanor, he pulled the ship’s whistle cord—two short blasts and one long blast—delivering the precise daily countersign to the fort. The Confederate sentries, assuming the ship was under the command of its usual captain, waved them through. Once out of firing range, Smalls lowered the Confederate flag, raised a white bedsheet, and surrendered the ship, its heavy artillery, and its cache of secret Confederate codebooks to the blockading Union Navy. This extraordinary act of defiance not only secured freedom for his family but also provided massive tactical advantages to the North. Smalls subsequently achieved immense success during Reconstruction, serving five terms in the United States House of Representatives and authoring legislation that created the first free, compulsory public school system in the United States.
