Written by: Louise Meriwether
Illustrated by: Jonathan Green
Read by: Inez Tenenbaum
Robert Smalls, born a slave in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, gained fame as an African American hero of the American Civil War. The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls tells the inspirational story of Small's life as a slave, his boyhood dream of freedom, and his bold and daring plan as a young man to commandeer a Confederate gunboat from Charleston Harbor and escape with fifteen fellow slaves and family members. Smalls joined the Union Navy and rose to the rank of captain and became the first African American to command a U.S. service ship. After the war Smalls returned to Beaufort, bought the home of his former master, and began a long career in state and national politics.
Written by: Louise Meriwether
Illustrated by: Jonathan Green
Read by: Inez Tenenbaum
Robert Smalls, born a slave in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, gained fame as an African American hero of the American Civil War. The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls tells the inspirational story of Small's life as a slave, his boyhood dream of freedom, and his bold and daring plan as a young man to commandeer a Confederate gunboat from Charleston Harbor and escape with fifteen fellow slaves and family members. Smalls joined the Union Navy and rose to the rank of captain and became the first African American to command a U.S. service ship. After the war Smalls returned to Beaufort, bought the home of his former master, and began a long career in state and national politics.
Standards
- 1.H.3 Evaluate different sources of evidence used in historical inquiry, such as art, artifacts, digital sources, graphs, maps, oral histories, photographs/images, and texts.
- ELA.AOR.2 Evaluate and critique the development of themes and central ideas within and across texts.
- 2.H.1 Identify and compare significant historical events, moments, and symbols in U.S. history.
- ELA.F.4 Read and reread grade-appropriate texts with accuracy and expression at an appropriate rate to support comprehension.
- ELA.3.OE.3 Make inferences to support comprehension.
- ELA.F.4: Read and reread grade-appropriate texts with accuracy and expression at an appropriate rate to support comprehension.
- 5.4.CE Analyze the causes and impacts of social movements in the U.S. and South Carolina.
