Robert Smalls Steals Confederate Ship

US #683 was issued for the 250th anniversary of the establishment of Charleston. Click image to order.
On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a slave aboard the CSS Planter, stole the Confederate ship and turned it over to Union forces.
Robert Smalls was born into slavery on April 5, 1839, in Beaufort, South Carolina. When he was 12 he was sent to Charleston to work as a laborer for $1 a week. While we worked a variety of jobs there, he discovered a love of the sea and was able to find work on the docks and wharves in Charleston.