Robert Smalls: House bill would name a Beaufort, S.C., post office branch for the Civil War hero, former slave

A bill naming a post office in Beaufort, S.C., for Civil War hero Robert Smalls, who escaped slavery by commandeering a Rebel steamship, has passed a US House committee.

“He leaves an unmistakable legacy of grit, bravery, and determination which is imbued in the spirit of the Lowcountry to this day,” Rep. Nancy Mace said in a statement Wednesday. She calls Smalls an "exceptional American."

At the start of the Civil War, the enslaved Smalls was a pilot on the CSS Planter. On the morning of May 13, 1862, Smalls led the takeover of the ship by its slave crew, sailed past Charleston Harbor's formidable defenses and surrendered the vessel to the Union blockade fleet. His wife and children were among those on board who gained freedom.

Smalls, 23 at the time, was celebrated across the North for his daring ride to freedom and he served as a ship’s pilot for the rest of the conflict.

The entire South Carolina congressional delegation supports the honor at a shopping plaza on, fittingly, Robert Smalls Parkway, Mace said. John Seibels, Mace’s spokesman, told the Island Packet newspaper that the bill will go the House floor for a vote, which he said will likely pass easily.

The naming would be the latest honor for Smalls.

After the war, he returned to his hometown Beaufort and bought his former master’s home. Following a stint in South Carolina’s Legislature, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served several terms.

The congressman fought against the disenfranchisement of black voters across the South, according to the American Battlefield Trust. He also fought against segregation within the military. Smalls died in 1915 at age 75.

“Each day I spend in Congress, I strive to live up to the values which Robert Smalls so clearly embodied," said Mace.

Work continues on James Warfield house at Gettysburg

Restoration of a home at the core of the Gettysburg battlefield continues, with roof trusses up and foundation and water abatement work completed, park officials said.

The James and Eliza Warfield farmhouse is being returned to its 1863 appearance, says Gettysburg National Military Park spokesman Jason Martz.

Work has included the removal of postwar additions, including aluminum siding and side buildings. The home’s height has essentially been chopped in half to its original 1.5 floors, while retaining the original stone walls. The park acquired the home in the 1970s.

Warfield, one of many free African-Americans in Adams County, and his family fled as Confederates neared Gettysburg. They were afraid they could be sent south and enslaved. The blacksmith’s home overlooked much of the July 2-3, 1863, battlefield, including the Peach Orchard, and was in the thick of action.

Upcoming work includes selection demolition of a modern three-car garage and driveway, Martz told the Picket. Park officials hope work at the farm site is completed later this year so that the site can open to visitors.

Civil War Times recently spoke with Chris Gwinn, chief of education and interpretation at Gettysburg, about the project. Gwinn said officials don't know how many people lived in the tiny residence at the time of the battle.

Ex-slaves helped shape Virginia after Civil War

Virginia’s legislature got a lot of attention this year for its historically diverse crop of lawmakers, including the most women ever to serve, the first Latinas and the first transgender delegate. But while the number of African-Americans in the House of Delegates was the highest in many lifetimes, it wasn’t the highest ever, the Washington Post reports. There was another time -- 150 years ago -- when African Americans were fully represented -and had an equal hand in shaping state government. • Article