The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls
About this ebook
Robert Smalls, born a slave in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, gained fame as an African American hero of the American Civil War. The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls tells the inspirational story of Small's life as a slave, his boyhood dream of freedom, and his bold and daring plan as a young man to commandeer a Confederate gunboat from Charleston Harbor and escape with fifteen fellow slaves and family members. Smalls joined the Union Navy and rose to the rank of captain and became the first African American to command a U.S. service ship. After the war Smalls returned to Beaufort, bought the home of his former master, and began a long career in state and national politics.
This new edition of The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls, originally published in 1971, features Louise Meriwether's original narrative, now illustrated by the colorful paintings of renowned Southern artist Jonathan Green.
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About the author
Louise Meriwether is a novelist, journalist, and teacher. She earned a B.A. in English from New York University and an M.A. in journalism from the University of California, Los Angeles. In the 1950s Meriwether worked for Universal Studios as the first African American story analyst in Hollywood. Her first novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner, received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. Meriwether has taught creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Houston.
