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TO LIFT THE MORATORIUM ON NEW MONUMENTS ON THE STATE HOUSE GROUNDS, PURSUANT TO SECTION 2-1-240 OF THE 1976 CODE, FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF ERECTING A MONUMENT TO ROBERT SMALLS.
Whereas, the members of the General Assembly propose a monument of enduring historical significance to Robert Smalls, an escaped slave who became a Civil War hero and a legislator in the South Carolina General Assembly and served five terms in the United States House of Representatives; and
Whereas, Robert Smalls was born a slave on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina. He was the son of Lydia Polite but owned by John McKee; and
Whereas, during the Civil War, Mr. Smalls, illiterate and 23 years old, escaped by commandeering the Confederate ship, the Planter, on which he worked, delivering its black passengers from slavery to freedom through a gauntlet of gunboats and forts. Thereafter, he served the Union Army as a civilian boat pilot with distinction in numerous engagements, acted as a spokesperson for African Americans, and was made the first black captain of an Army vessel for his valor; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, the South Carolina Senate, and the United States House of Representatives, enduring violent elections to achieve internal improvements for coastal South Carolina and to fight for his black constituents in the face of growing disenfranchisement; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls spoke openly in defense of his race and his party. Even with the rise of Jim Crow laws, Mr. Smalls stood firm as an unyielding advocate for the political rights of African Americans; and
Whereas, he was one of the first South Carolinians to advocate successfully for compulsory education; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls played a critical role in bridging relations between the black and white communities during and after Reconstruction; and
Whereas, he was the founder of the Enterprise Railroad Company of Charleston; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls also served as brigadier general of the South Carolina Militia; opened a store for freedmen and a school for black children; published a newspaper, the Beaufort Southern Standard; and served as the US Customs collector at the port of Beaufort; and
Whereas, he promoted the establishment of the US Naval Station at Port Royal and the purchase of Parris Island; and
Whereas, in 2007, the US Army named for the first time a ship after an African American, the support vessel Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls married Hannah Jones and, upon her death, remarried Annie Wigg. He had four children, Elizabeth, Sarah, Robert, Jr., and William Robert; and
Whereas, Mr. Smalls died in Beaufort on February 22, 1915, in the same house behind which he had been born and served as a slave, and later came to purchase; and
Whereas, a monument to honor Robert Smalls would represent the remarkable contributions, achievements, and accomplishments of this forgotten son of South Carolina and would serve as an overdue tribute to the many slaves who sacrificed alongside him. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution, lift the moratorium on new monuments on the State House grounds, pursuant to Section 2-1-240 of the 1976 Code, for the sole purpose of erecting a monument to Robert Smalls.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the State House Committee.
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