planter (steamship)

Tells the story of Robert Smalls, a slave steamboat wheelman who navigated past Confederate forts in South Carolina and became one of the Civil War's greatest heroes.

"The biography of Robert Smalls, a slave steamboat wheelman who navigated past Confederate forts in South Carolina and became one of the Civil War's greatest heroes. Includes text from Seven Miles to Freedom and additional sidebars"--Provided by publisher.

A biography of Robert Smalls who, during the Civil War, commandeered the Confederate ship Planter to carry his family and twelve other slaves to freedom, and went on to become a United States Congressman working toward African-American advancement.

Presents the true story of former slave and United States Congressman Robert Smalls. In 1862, twenty-three-year-old Robert Smalls captured a heavily-armed Confederate steamer and delivered it to Union soldiers. Smalls was granted his freedom for this act, and through his bravery in numerous naval campaigns as a civilian he became the first black captain of an army ship, and eventually a United States Congressman.