The Slave Who Wore the Captain's Hat — Robert Smalls (1862)

3 A.M.

May 12, 1862. Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

The Confederate armed steamship Planter sat at the dock.

The white captain and officers were ashore for the night.

Only the enslaved crew remained on board.

Robert Smalls, 23. The ship's helmsman.

He put on the captain's coat and hat. Close enough in build.

He smuggled his family aboard from a nearby vessel — his wife, two children, and other enslaved families.

At 4 a.m., he blew the steam whistle and moved out.

Charleston Harbor had two Confederate checkpoints.

Fort Johnson. Fort Sumter.

Each required the correct signal. Smalls had memorized the captain's procedure.

Two short blasts. One long.

Both forts waved him through.

Past the harbor entrance, he raised a white bedsheet.

A Union blockade ship took aim — then saw the flag and held fire.

Smalls had delivered an entire Confederate warship to the Union: four cannons, secret navigational charts, and Confederate signal codes.

The story ran in newspapers across the country.

Smalls met with Lincoln and personally argued for allowing Black men to enlist in the Union Army. Lincoln agreed.

After the war, Smalls was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina.

Sailing the same harbor. On the same ship.

Date: May 13, 1862 | Escapees: 17 | Ship delivered: CSS Planter | Smalls served in Congress: 1875–1887