JOURNEY TO FREEDOM Robert Smalls longed for freedom He was an enslaved person living in South Carolina a state where slavery was permitted But the Civil War 1861-1865 was changing the course of the nation The Union made up of Northern states fought to end slavery in the US The Confederacy made up of Southern states fought to keep slavery Many people of color including Black men of the Fourth US Colored Infantry fought for the Union during the Civil War
On May 12 1862 twenty three year old Smalls was working on the USS Planter a Confederate ship That night Smalls and the crew took control after the captain and officers left the ship to go into town They sailed the Planter up the coast and stopped along the way to pick up their families Smalls sailed the ship to Union ships near Fort Sumter early on May 13. He delivered the Confederate weapons that were on board his ship to the Union army Smalls had guided seventeen people to freedom He was honored by the navy and later fought for the Union Smalls's story is one of many that is often not discussed in teachings of the Civil War People from underrepresented groups made great contributions to the war and their stories often go untold Robert Smalls The USS Planter was built in South Carolina in 1860
New York STRONG VOICES Before the war started many people fought to stop slavery Two abolitionists were among those who helped turn public opinion against slavery especially in the North -VOL II NO 1 THE AMERICAN ANTI SLAVERY ALMANAC FOR 1842 CALCULATED FOR THE HORIZON AND MERIDIAN OF BOSTON NEW YORK BALTIMORE AND CHARLESTON AND FOR USE IN EVERY PART OF THE COUNTRY NEW YORK PUBLISHED BY S. W. BENEDICT 128 FULTON STREET Price 25.00 per 1000 $3,00 per hindred THE AMERICAN ANTI SLAVERY ALMANAC FOR 1843 BEING THE THIRD AFTER BISSEXTILE OR LEAP YEAR AND UNTIL JULY 4th THE SIXTY SEVENTH OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES Oh hail Columbia Happy land The cradle land of Liberty Where none bat negtoes bear the brand Or feel the lash of slavery Then let the glorious anthem peal And drows -Britannia ves Strike up the song that men slaves DR MADDEN o Columbia rules thro ARCH COMPILITED BY L. M. CHILD NEW YORK Anti Slavery Society 143 Nassauf street Published by the 25 Combill Boston and 31 North Fifth street Philadelphia The 1842 left and 1843 right editions of the American Anti Slavery Almanac published by the American Anti Slavery Society
HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET Henry Highland Garnet was born into slavery When he was nine his family escaped to the North for freedom Garnet grew interested in religion and later became a minister He was also passionate about ending slavery He joined the American Anti Slavery Society and used his speaking talent to argue for the end of slavery At an 1843 convention in New York Garnet delivered a speech titled Call to Rebellion He argued that the only way Black people would be free is through fighting their oppressors He said those enslaved should rather die freemen than live to be slaves Henry Highland Garnet continued working as a minister after the war ended Many in the abolitionist movement disagreed with Garnet But Garnet continued to fight for the end of slavery He later recruited Black soldiers to join the Union army On February 12 1865 he became the first Black minister to deliver a sermon to the US Congress
