Robert Smalls will become 1st African American individual to have monument on Statehouse grounds

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A South Carolina man born into slavery will become the first African American individual to have a monument erected on Statehouse grounds in his honor.

On Thursday, Governor Henry McMaster and other lawmakers met for a ceremonial bill signing of the “Robert Smalls Monument Bill” (H. 5042) ensuring a monument will be built on Statehouse grounds in his honor.

“What we’re doing today with this man, Robert Smalls, is one more piece of the important crucial history that people need to know about. We have a fantastic history. And our history is what makes us, what we’ve been through, what we know, our land, our water, the geography, all of that, is what makes us what we are. And if we learn how strong we are, learn the potential we have, for all these children sitting here, the future will be as bright as it can be,” says McMaster.

According to the National Park Service, Robert Smalls was born into slavery in 1839 in Beaufort, SC.

During the Civil War, Smalls and other slaves were left unattended on a Confederate ship.

He commandeered it in the middle of the night to a Union controlled territory in the Port Royal/Hilton Head area — turning the ship over to the U.S. Navy — and gaining his freedom, and his family’s freedom, in the process.

Smalls later served in both the SC House of Representatives and Senate before becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1882.

The bill to erect a monument for Smalls passed the SC House and Senate unanimously.

“This is a SC that our young people deserve. They deserve this from us. And in a few short years, we’re gonna be able to sit under the gaze of not only a South Carolinian who is a hero, but an American hero. An individual who fought for all of us. An individual we all benefited from today,” says Rep. Jermaine Johnson of District 70.

Smalls passed away in February 1915.

His monument will join other monuments and statues on Statehouse grounds, with its design and location being determined by a committee in the coming months.