Be Free or Die

These are tough times. Seems like tried and true principles are burning down around us. Chaos is rampant. Anxiety is everywhere. Key leaders are failing us. Whom can we look to for inspiration?

I’m lucky enough to be in a book group with a lot of smart women. One of the books we have been reading is “Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls’ Escape from Slavery to Union Hero” by Cate Lineberry. If you need an example of someone who overcame great odds to do great things, Smalls is the big guy.

Robert Smalls was born into slavery in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina. Growing up, he witnessed the savageries of enslavement: whippings, the placing of people in stocks for hours at a time, deprivation of food and water, separation of families, and other brutality. 

His enslaver, Henry McKee, saw potential in Robert, and took steps that benefitted them both. He sent him to Charleston, a busy city on the water, and hired him out, allowing him to keep a small portion of his wages while McKee took the rest. Smalls was smart and ambitious, and was able to influence McKee to allow him increasing opportunity. From the age of twelve on, Robert held jobs as a waiter in a hotel, as a lamplighter, and a loader on the docks. Later a schooner owner hired him as a sailor. He married an enslaved woman, and they had a child. He wanted to buy the freedom of his wife and child, but the cost seemed insurmountable. Plus, he would still be a slave himself. How would he be able to remove his family from this life of servitude?

This was a grueling period in our nation’s history. South Carolina was the first state to secede after the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Union troops then occupied Fort Sumter. South Carolina believed that the Union had no right to inhabit the space, since South Carolina was no longer a part of the Union. As a result, a standoff ensued between state and federal soldiers, which lasted for many months. As time went on, more southern states joined South Carolina in seceding. In March 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, thus setting off the Civil War. 

Smalls watched with growing concern. He could not see how he could obtain the freedom of his family under these circumstances. 

By May of 1862 he had worked his way up to become the captain of a Confederate ship, the Planter. It was here that he had an idea. I know, he thought, I’ll just take over the ship and pilot it on over the to the Union side.

Oh, sure. Obviously, the stakes were high. He had to pass through the heavily militarized area off the coast. He had to fool the Confederates into thinking he was a white captain. He had to hope that Union ship personnel would avoid attacking a vessel from the Confederacy coming in their direction. He could easily be killed any step of the way. Was it worth it? Was it even possible?

Smalls’ bravery and determined pursuit of freedom won out. Unbelievably, he and the Planter made it to a Union ship unscathed. The Planter was carrying precious cargo – his family, several other enslaved people, massive amounts of Confederate weaponry, and a book translating the coded messages the Confederates used in flag communications. While he was relieved over the safe passage of the people with him, Union leadership was grateful for the strategic advantages he brought.

Smalls went on to actively support the Union and anti-slavery efforts. He convinced Lincoln to allow Blacks to serve as soldiers. He continued piloting vessels for the Union side. He raised money to support formerly enslaved people. After the Civil War, he started a business, published a newspaper, and was elected to Congress. He bought McKee’s home, which was being sold for back taxes. He invited McKee’s widow and some of her children to come live with him, which they did. However, they would not eat with him. Smalls met this snub with kindness and graciousness. Later he gave the family money and helped one member be accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. It seems that while being daring and courageous, he was also compassionate and empathetic.

It is easy to see the hard things around us and feel stymied. Let us look to a hero like Smalls who saw a narrow path to freedom and took it, worked to build a better way for others, and kept his humanitarian spirit in the face of ugliness. Let us not give up, but move forward with determination and grace.

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