164 years after Robert Smalls’ escape from slavery, SC legislators celebrate planned monument

By: Skylar Laird

Outlets: South Carolina Daily Gazette

Published: May 13, 2026

Words: 660

Last Updated: 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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COLUMBIA — In the early hours of May 13, 1862, an enslaved man delivered himself, his fellow crew members and their families past a Confederate barricade to freedom.

Exactly 164 years later, on the state-designated day commemorating the escape, state lawmakers celebrated Robert Smalls and the legacy they hope more people learn about through a monument to the Civil War hero on Statehouse grounds.

Standing on the empty patch of land just outside …

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