The Seizure of the Planter
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BIO-HAZRD
N 32° 46.385 W 079° 55.637
17S E 600466 N 3626640
The Planter; A Confederate transport seized by Robert Smalls on May 13, 1862.
Waymark Code: WMKACB
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 03/08/2014
Views: 17
Inscription front:
Early on May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, an enslaved harbor pilot aboard the Planter, seized the 149-ft. Confederate transport from a wharf just east of here. He and six enslaved crewmen took the vessel before dawn when its captain, pilot, and engineer were ashore. Smalls guided the ship through the channel, past Fort Sumter, and out to sea, delivering it to the Federal fleet which was blockading the harbor.
Inscription reverse:
Northern and Southern newspapers called this feat "bold" and "daring." Smalls and his crew, a crewman on another ship, and eight other enslaved persons including Smalls' wife, Hanna, and three children, won their freedom by it.
Smalls (1839-1915) was appointed captain of the Planter by a U.S. Army contract in 1853. A native of Beaufort, he was later a state legislator and then a five-term U.S. Congressman.
This marker is located in Charleston, South Carolina, in Charleston County. Marker is at the intersection of East Bay Street (U.S. 52) and Waterside (Harbor Seawall walkway), on the right when traveling north on East Bay Street. Located north of Water Street at the Historic Charleston Foundation. Marker is at or near this postal address: 40 East Bay Street, Charleston SC 29401.
This marker was erected in 2012 by Historic Charleston Foundation and the African American Historical Alliance.
Marker Name: The Seizure of the Planter
Marker Location: City
Type of Marker: Person
Marker number: 10-76
County: Charleston County
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