May 13, 1862---Slaves no more

MAY 13, 1862:             

The Rebel owner/skipper of the steamship PLANTER was a smart man. To keep his operating expenses down, he crewed the vessel entirely with slaves. Docked in Charleston, S.C., he decided to spend the night ashore. At 4:00 AM his erstwhile crew, led by pilot Robert Smalls, weighed anchor and chugged out into the bay. Reaching the Union blockade line, they raised a white flag and surrendered the ship and its cargo, and its crew---themselves---to the U.S.S. ONWARD. As for the PLANTER itself---it became the U.S.S. PLANTER, and Robert Smalls became the first black man to command a United States Navy vessel. The U.S.S. PLANTER, transferred to the Army’s gunboat division, later supported Union-held Fort Pulaski, in Savannah, Georgia, and survived the war, still with Smalls in command.