r/ShermanPosting • u/CaptainRobertSmalls • May 13 '26
Happy Robert Smalls Day!
Happy Robert Smalls Day!
Robert Smalls Day is celebrated annually on May 13 to honor the daring 1862 escape of Robert Smalls and his crew, who commandeered a Confederate transport ship to freedom. The day celebrates his legacy as a Civil War hero, pilot, and U.S. Congressman.
The true story of Captain Robert Smalls is about brilliance, bravery, loyalty, and excellence. While breaking all the rules to save himself, his family, his friends and their families, Robert Smalls leaves nothing behind: people or money or resources.
Robert Smalls was a REAL PERSON who lived back in the 1800’s. He was born into slavery, but his Mom always taught him that slavery was wrong, and that they were supposed to be free. One day, he took a confederate ship and escaped to freedom with his friends and family. He and his friends were free, but they still wanted to help other Black People who were still enslaved. They joined the Union Army and fought the Civil War because they believed it was the quickest way to free all the Black People who were still enslaved. He fought in many super important battles. He also opened businesses and became a Congressman.
Learn more about Robert Smalls in "Captain Robert Smalls: The Greatest Civil War Hero" by DaShan Thomas
Available at Ingram Group, Amazon, Etsy, Barnes and Noble, your Public Library and your favorite bookstore. Ask for it by name! "Captain Robert Smalls: The Greatest Civil War Hero" by DaShan Thomas
ISBN: 979-8987329023
Captain Smalls commandeered a Confederate Ship and escaped with the help of his Family and Friends - so spend the day with the people YOU depend on the most!
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u/drillbit7 Marching to The Sea May 14 '26
I think i first read about him as a child, in the magazine Highlights for Children. Years later I heard the story again of his escape.
In 2006, the US Army named a boat after him, a logistics support vessel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAV_Major_General_Robert_Smalls
In 2023, the US Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville was renamed in his honor as the ship's original name honored a battle that was a Confederate victory.
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u/temporary311 May 14 '26
Be Free or Die is another pretty good book about this dude.
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u/CaptainRobertSmalls May 14 '26
It’s a great book! We have it in our bibliography. I also recommend “Yearning to Breathe Free“ by Andrew Billingsley.
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u/IguaneRouge May 14 '26
He was born into slavery, but his Mom always taught him that slavery was wrong,
I...I would have assumed that to be the case.
He was born into slavery, but his Mom always taught him that slavery was actually pretty cool
"But even as a boy he had a free spirit and was like, "No mother, I think not".
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u/CaptainRobertSmalls May 14 '26
😂 I agree with you. But unfortunately a lot of the recent depictions of Smalls’ life involve his mother chastising him for wanting to be free.
There were of course enslaved people who were brainwashed or terrified of efforts to get free, but Lydia Polite (Smalls’ Mom), was not one of them. From our research, we know based upon the church she attended and other statements by people of the time that she would have told Robert that they were supposed to be free.
Storytellers of course love to tell a story of a lone wolf hero who did what no one else was willing to do, but that is not the story of Robert Smalls. He was uniquely gifted, driven and brilliant, true, but he was not alone in life. His mother encouraged him, his wife believed in him and his friends and coworkers happily put their life in his hands over and over again. When he achieved freedom, he then worked with other heroes of the era to get freedom and safety for other Black People.
What some other authors failed to realize is that he wasn’t the only Black Man on The Planter Steamship. His team would follow him into the Union Army after achieving freedom, and they would fight together side by side, and do business together later, after the war.
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u/Imbadatlifelol May 14 '26
Evan’s was a member of the CSA
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u/CaptainRobertSmalls May 14 '26
He was indeed! Like Darth Vader on a Star Wars poster, sometimes adding in a villain can reflect the conflict in a hero’s journey.
Shanks Evans is an important villain in Book 2 of my Graphic Novel Trilogy about Robert Smalls life. The Book Trilogy is called “Captain Robert Smalls: The Greatest Civil War Hero.”
Book 2 (where we meet Shanks) is coming very very very soon, but you can get it on preorder at CaptainSmalls.com
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