Two senators proposing monument to Union African-American soldier on State House grou
 

Two senators proposing monument to Union African-American soldier on State House grounds
By Jeremy Turnage, Digital Content Manager 9-20-17
RE: http://www.wistv.com/story/36411157/...-house-grounds

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
A bipartisan pair of South Carolina State Senators are proposing a new monument for the State House grounds that would honor a Union African-American Navy officer from the Palmetto State.

Senator Greg Gregory (R-Lancaster) and Senator Darrell Jackson (D-Richland) say the violence in Charlottesville last month during a white supremacist rally that turned deadly pushed them to find a positive way forward after cities across the U.S. began removing Confederate monuments.

The subject of the monument, Robert Smalls, was a boat pilot hired out by his master to sail ships from the harbor in Charleston. On May 13, 1862, at the age of 23, he commandeered the Confederate steamer The Planter, ran a gauntlet of heavy fortifications, and sailed to freedom along with his family and several others.

Smalls also was elected to the SC House of Representatives and later to the SC Senate. He also served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.