Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an enslaved African American who, during and after the
American Civil War, became a ship's pilot, sea captain, and politician. He freed himself, his crew and their families from slavery on May 13, 1862, by commandeering a Confederate transport ship,
CSS Planter, in Charleston harbor, and sailing it from Confederate controlled waters to the U.S. blockade. His example and persuasion helped convince President
Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the
U.S. Army.