Robert Smalls Day honors Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship to freedom. Learn more about Smalls in "Captain Robert Smalls: The Greatest Civil War Hero" by DaShan Thomas www.captainsmalls.com #RobertSmalls #BlackHistory365 #CivilWarHistory #BlackExcellence
EdwardMay 13, 1862 – Southern slave Robert Smalls steals the steamboat Planter, spirits it through Confederate lines and hands it to the United States Navy, who quickly commission it as the gunboat USS Planter and appoint Smalls as captain, thus making him the first black man to command a US ship.