Parrott, Enoch
Pemberton, John C.
Peninsula Campaign
See also McClellan, George B.
Phelps, John
Phillips, Wendell
Pierce, Edward L.
Pitcher, Samuel Z.
Planter (ship)
description
Du Pont, Samuel Francis and
escapees aboard
Fannie (ship) and
Ferguson, John and
handover to Union
Northern reaction to theft of
Philadelphia visit
plan for stealing
prize money for theft of
Relyea, Charles and
repair of
reports of recapture by Confederacy
retirement of
return to Charleston
sale of
Saxton, Rufus and
seizure of
Smalls as pilot/captain of
Smalls’ history with
Southern reaction to theft of
transport of Union troops/supplies
weapons
Wells, Gideon and
Poincignon, Emile
Polite, Lydia (Smalls’ mother)
Port Royal Experiment
Powell, Lewis
prisoners of war
prize money (theft of Planter)
Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
Quartermaster Corps
Quartermaster Department
See also Freedman’s Bureau
Radical Republicans
See also Republican Party
Reconstruction
Red Shirts
Redpath, James
regiments, North
1st Massachusetts Cavalry
3rd New Hampshire
6th Connecticut
7th Connecticut Volunteers
7th New Hampshire Volunteers
8th Maine Volunteer Infantry
9th Maine
48th New York
62nd and 67th Ohio
76th Pennsylvania
100th New York
Battle of Charleston and
regiments, South
1st South Carolina Volunteers
3rd South Carolina Colored Troops
Relyea, Charles J.
Republican Party
See also Radical Republicans
Revenue Act
Revolutionary War
Reynolds, William H.
Rhett, Robert Barnwell
Rhind, A. C.
Ripley, Roswell
Rodgers, John
Saxton, Rufus
American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission and
background
black troops and
Chase, Salmon and
as delegate for National Union Party
Department of the South and
Emancipation Proclamation and
freed slaves and
Howard, Oliver and
as inspector of settlements and plantations
Planter and
Port Royal Experiment and
Sea Islands and
Sherman, William and
Smalls, Robert and
tax sales and
Secessionville
Second Confiscation Act. See Confiscation Act of 1862
segregation
Seward, William
Seymour, Truman
Shaw, Robert Gould
Sherman, Thomas W.
Sherman, William Tecumseh
Simmons, John
Simons, James
slave auctions
slave badges
slave codes
See also Black Codes
slave curfews
slave punishments
slave revolts
slave trade
Small, John
smallpox
Smalls, Annie (second wife)
Smalls, Elizabeth (daughter)
Smalls, Hannah (wife)
See also Jones, Bostick; Jones, Charlotte; Jones, Clara
Smalls, Martineau (William Smalls’ wife)
Smalls, Robert, Jr. (son)
Smalls, Sarah (daughter)
Smalls, William (son)
Smith, Abram
Smith, John Joyner
Smithsonian Institution
Social, Cultural and Statistical Association of the Colored People of Philadelphia
South Atlantic Blockade
South Carolina Volunteers
See also 33rd USCT
Southern Guardian (newspaper)
Special Field Orders
No. 15 (Union)
No. 35 (Confederate)
Stanton, Edwin
American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission and
Battle of Charleston Harbor and
black troops and
Hunter, David and
Port Royal and
Saxton, Rufus and
Sherman, William Tecumseh and
Smalls, Robert and
U.S. Congress’s questioning of
Steedman, James
Still, William
Stono River
Sugar House. See Work House
Sullivan’s Island
Swayne, Noah
Taft, William Howard
taxes
Amnesty Proclamation and
seceded states’ refusal to pay
tax commissioners
tax sales
Thanksgiving Proclamation
Thomas Fuller house
Thompson, Matilda
Thomson, George
Tillman, William
Tillson, Davis
Tilton, Theodore
Townsend, E. D.
Tubman, Harriet
Turner, Gabriel
Turner, Henry McNeal
Turner, Nat
See also slave revolts
United States Colored Troops (USCT)
21st USCT
33rd USCT
34th USCT
37th USCT
104th USCT
officers
USS Augusta
Vesey, Denmark
Virginia (ship)
See also ironclads
Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Wabash (ship)
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
Wagner, Augustus
Walker, Joseph
War Democrats
War Department
War of 1812
Weehawken (ship)
Welles, Gideon
Battle of Charleston Harbor and
Du Pont, Samuel Francis and
Planter and
position on black soldiers
Smalls, Robert, and
Western Sanitary Commission
Wheeler, Joseph
White, Anna
White House
Whitney, Eli
Wickliffe, Charles
wigwag code
Williams, Jay
Wilson, Lavinia
Wilson (Reverend)
Wording, William E.
Work House (Charleston)
More Praise for Be Free or Die
“One of the great tales of heroism to come out of the Civil War now has the book it deserves. Be Free or Die brings us for the first time a complete picture of Robert Smalls, the slave who stole a Confederate ship, liberated his family and friends, and went on to be a member of Congress. Thank you, Cate Lineberry, for telling so well the extraordinary story of this extraordinary man.”
—Christopher Dickey, New York Times bestselling author of Our Man in Charleston: Britain’s Secret Agent in the Civil War South
“Robert Smalls’ daring, determined effort to free himself and his family from slavery stands as a thrilling representative of the thousands of unknown acts of self-liberation performed by slaves during the war. In Be Free or Die, Cate Lineberry brings to life the exciting story of this modest man whose dash for freedom under the guns of Charleston harbor led to
service in the union navy, a successful business career, and election to the US House of Representatives.”
—Jamie Malanowski, author of Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War and lead writer of the New York Times’s award-winning “Disunion” series
“The life story of Robert Smalls has few equals in the annals of American history. He is the archetype of the American Dream. In Be Free or Die Cate Lineberry has brought diligent research, compelling descriptions and high drama to this all-American story.”
—Lawrence S. Rowland, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina-Beaufort
“A fast-paced, well-crafted work that properly and accurately portrays the incredible feats of Robert Smalls during the Civil War. His actions proved to doubters that blacks could and would serve the United States in the pursuit for victory. Robert Smalls inspired and still inspires people of all races and is truly an American hero.”
—Stephen R. Wise, Ph.D., historian and author of Gate of Hell: The Campaign for Charleston 1863 and, with Lawrence Rowland, Rebellion, Reconstruction and Redemption: The History of Beaufort County Volume 2, 1861–1893
About the Author
CATE LINEBERRY is a journalist and the author of The Secret Rescue, a #1 Wall Street Journal e-book bestseller and a finalist for the Edgar and Anthony Awards. Lineberry was previously a staff writer and editor for National Geographic magazine and the web editor for Smithsonian magazine. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times. Lineberry lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Map of Charleston Harbor, 1862
Key Participants
Prologue
1: The Escape
2: South Carolina’s Son
3: In the Service of the Confederacy
4: Union Hero
5: Our Country Calls
6: North and South
7: The Keokuk
8: Captain Smalls
9: The City of Brotherly Love
10: Triumph and Tragedy
11: Retaliation and Reward
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
More Praise for Be Free or Die
About the Author
Copyright
BE FREE OR DIE. Copyright © 2017 by Cate Lineberry. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Map of Charleston Harbor, 1862, by David Lambert.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs: Robert Smalls © VA Museum; water and sunset sky © Amble Design/Shutterstock.com; steam ship © Interim Archives/Getty Images; old paper © Taddeus/Shutterstock.com
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-250-10186-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-10187-7 (e-book)
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: June 2017
Be Free or Die--The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero Page 28