#robert smalls

From LEGION M...

"After years of development and support from our incredible community, the first volume of the DEFIANT graphic novel is finally complete and we are so happy to report that it turned out even better than we could have imagined.

The combination of Robert Smalls’ extraordinary true story, with the poignant and historically accurate writing from Rob Edwards (Captain America: Brave New World, The Princess and the Frog, King of Kings), and the artistic brilliance of the Stranger Comics creative team makes this book something truly special. It’s not just gorgeous to look at, it’s a compelling and emotional read that feels both timeless and urgent.

A FIRST LOOK: PROTOTYPE PHOTOS

We’re thrilled to share a few raw, unedited photos of the printed book we just received. Seeing it in hand for the first time was a moment we’ll never forget and we wanted you to be among the very first to get a peek. These are hot off the press and give you a real sense of the quality and care that has gone into this awesome book.

MAKE IT A BESTSELLER

The official launch is set for Juneteenth (June 19)! Our goal is to turn this masterpiece into a bestselling and award-winning graphic novel and we need your help to make that happen. So if you haven’t already, now’s the time to pre-order your copy on Amazon, where all sales count toward the bestseller lists. Or if you prefer to support local bookstores, you can also find the book at Bookshop.org

"South Carolina is preparing to put up its first individual statue for an African American on its Statehouse lawn, honoring a man who put on Confederate clothes in order to steal a slaveholder’s ship and sail his family and a dozen others to freedom during the Civil War.

But Robert Smalls isn’t just being honored for his audacious escape. He spent a decade in the US House, helped rewrite South Carolina’s constitution to allow Black men equality after the Civil War and then put up a valiant but doomed fight when racists returned to power and eliminated nearly all of the gains Smalls fought for.

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson can’t wait to bring his children to the Statehouse to finally see someone who is Black like them being honored.

“The man has done so many great things, it’s just a travesty he has not been honored until now. Heck, it’s also a travesty there isn’t some big Hollywood movie out there about his life,” said Johnson, a Democrat from a district just a few miles from the Statehouse.

The idea for a statue to Smalls has been percolating for years. But there was always quiet opposition preventing a bill from getting a hearing. That changed in 2024 as the proposal made it unanimously through the state House and Senate on the back of Republican Rep. Brandon Cox of Goose Creek.

“South Carolina is a great state. We’ve got a lot of history, good and bad. This is our good history,” Cox said.

What will the Robert Smalls memorial look like?

The bill created a special committee that has until January 15 to come up with a design, a location on the Statehouse lawn and the money to pay for whatever memorial they choose.

But supporters face a challenging question: What best honors Smalls?

If it’s just one statue, is it best to honor the steel-nerved ship pilot who waited for all the white crew to leave, then mimicked hand signals and whistle toots to get through Confederate checkpoints, while hoping Confederate soldiers didn’t notice a Black man under the hat in the pale moonlight in May 1862?

Or would a more fitting tribute to Smalls be to recognize the statesman who served in the South Carolina House and Senate and the US House after the Civil War? Smalls bought his master’s house in Beaufort in part with money made for turning the Confederate ship over to Union forces, then allowed the man’s penniless wife to live there when she was widowed.

Or is the elder Smalls who fought for education for all and to keep the gains African Americans made during the Civil War the man most worth publicly memorializing? Smalls would see a new constitution in 1895 wipe out African Americans’ right to vote. He was fired from his federal customs collector job in 1913 when then President Woodrow Wilson purged a large number of Black men out of government jobs.

Or would it be best to combine them all in some way? That’s how Republican Rep. Chip Campsen, an occasional ship pilot himself, sees honoring one of his favorite South Carolinians.

“The best way to sum up Robert Smalls’ life is it was a fight for freedom as a slave, as a pilot and as a statesman,” Campsen said."

You’ve got it. Today You Learned about Robert Smalls.

[Maybe you knew about him; if so, I apologize. But he’s not that well-known of a figure, and it IS Black History Month, after all.]

Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839, as a young man he was hired out into Charleston by his owner. This was a thing some slaveowners did and most of the money went back to them, but Robert was able to get a small wage for himself. He gained some skills working at the docks piloting boats, and learned a lot about Charleston Harbor. When he grew older he married another enslaved woman who worked in Charleston as a maid, and they had two children. He planned to be able to buy their freedom, but unfortunately the cost was too much.

And then the Civil War happened.

Robert was a good helmsman, so he was made the pilot of the Planter, a Confederate ship tasked with setting mines and transporting supplies and troops in Confederate waterways. But at this point, dear Robert decided to start planning escape, which is going to be difficult with the Union blockade of Charleston Harbor. But with the other enslaved crew members, they made a plan.

On the night of May 12, 1862, he and the other crew members (who were often left by the ship as long as they made curfew) managed to sneak off with their families. Robert wore the captain’s uniform and hat, so they were able to pass checkpoints by giving the correct signals, not getting too close to Confederate ships, and he copied the Confederate captain’s physical mannerisms. Confederate ships didn’t realize what happened until he was out of gun range.

He approached the Union blockade with a raised white flag, and surrendered the ship to Union forces. For this, he and his crewmen instantly became heroes in Union states.

As if that wasn’t awesome enough, Robert Smalls decided to use his knowledge of ships and the Confederate navy to join the Union military, taking part in over fifteen major battles in American Civil War. At one point he became captain of the Planter, the ship he had escaped on and given to the Union.

After the war, Smalls actually bought the house his enslaver used to own, and won the court case when that guy tried to get it back. He also let that man’s wife live in the house in the last few years of her life, which is probably a lot more gracious than I’d be in those circumstances. He was a part of the South Carolina State Constitutional Convention, and then the SC House of Representatives, working to make education free to all children in the state, and built a reputation as a good rhetorician. He then served in the US House of Representatives.

Look, Robert Smalls is The Man. The fact that he isn’t that well-known is incredibly disappointing, (he’s only got a couple small memorials and signs in Charleston) though there are some efforts to give him more recognition. he has an episode of Stuff You Missed in History and a Badass of the Week article.