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Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart

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Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Bankey. Virginians once

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Speaker 1: loved him. That was before the Revolutionary War, though. In

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Speaker 1: November of seventy five, he seized the state's ammunition, declared

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Speaker 1: martial law, and issued a proclamation freeing all enslaved and

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Speaker 1: indentured people if they joined the British. The colonists felt betrayed,

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Speaker 1: and Royal Governor John Murray became a hated man with

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Speaker 1: the proclamation, and enslaved twenty one year old by the

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Speaker 1: name of Titus Cornelius saw a chance of freedom. He

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Speaker 1: escaped and promptly enlisted with the newly formed Ethiopian regiment

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Speaker 1: that worked closely with British soldiers. A new start required,

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Speaker 1: heared a new name, and from that moment on he

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Speaker 1: was known simply as Ty. Determined to prove his worth,

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Speaker 1: during the Battle of Monmouth in seventeen seventy eight, Ti

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Speaker 1: captured a Patriot captain and his courage didn't go unnoticed.

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Speaker 1: The British found his services and loyalty valuable, and they

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Speaker 1: sent his unit on a raid in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.

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Speaker 1: The plan had been orchestrated by Benjamin Franklin's son William,

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Speaker 1: a British loyalist. Ty led the effort, preferring to strike

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Speaker 1: at night. The regiment captured eighty cattle, twenty horses, and

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Speaker 1: two sought after patriots. Again pleased with his bravery and fortitude,

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Speaker 1: the British paid Thai five gold guineas. Throughout the summer

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Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy nine, he and his crew targeted wealthy

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Speaker 1: slave owners. His continued success moved him up the ranks.

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Speaker 1: By winter, Tye served with twenty four loyalists called the

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Speaker 1: Black Brigade. Together with the band of white loyalists, they

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Speaker 1: defended New York City. On March eighty, the Black Brigade

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Speaker 1: captured two well known Patriots and burned the home of another.

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Speaker 1: In retaliation for executing loyalists, Tye attacked and killed Patriot

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Speaker 1: John Russell and wounded his young son. Two months later,

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Speaker 1: he and his brigade swept the home of another Patriot leader,

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Speaker 1: captured twelve men, and destroyed their artillery. In September, the

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Speaker 1: men raided the home of Patriot Captain John Joshua Hutty.

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Speaker 1: They set the homestead on fire, but Hutty and a

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Speaker 1: female servant held the brigade at bay until help arrived.

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Speaker 1: While the two sides clashed, the captain escaped. During the battle,

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Speaker 1: Tye was shot in the wrist. Within days, he fell

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Speaker 1: ill from infection tetanus turned to gang green, killing him.

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Speaker 1: Though the British didn't formally recognize black soldiers, upon his death,

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Speaker 1: they bestowed him with the title of colonel. During his life,

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Speaker 1: ty learned that to attain freedom there had to be courage,

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Speaker 1: a lesson that another man would take to heart and

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Speaker 1: make the most of. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows.

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Speaker 1: It was all about location. The climate and soil in Beaufort,

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Speaker 1: South Carolina, made growing indigo used to make ink and

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Speaker 1: sea island cotton highly profitable. By eighteen thirty nine, the

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Speaker 1: city became immensely wealthy. Beaufort had good schools, a college,

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Speaker 1: multiple libraries, and a regular steamboat schedule. Massive plantations sat

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Speaker 1: nestled among moss draped live oaks. Many plantations had been

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Speaker 1: handed down generation to generation. On Prince Street sat a

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Speaker 1: large mansion belonging to the mckeeth. Emily Henry, the only

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Speaker 1: son of a wealthy cotton grower had inherited his father's

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Speaker 1: land and fortune at the young age of twenty three.

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Speaker 1: He married two years later in eighteen thirty six, and

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Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty nine his wife gave birth to their daughter,

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Speaker 1: Eliza Jane. A month later, Henry's son, Robert, was born

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Speaker 1: to an enslaved housemaid, Lydia. Henry had known Lydia for

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Speaker 1: most of his life. Twenty years his senior, she had

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Speaker 1: helped raise him. Of all his servants, Henry favored her,

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Speaker 1: and when their son was old enough, Henry took the

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Speaker 1: boy on his day trips to the city of Ashdale.

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Speaker 1: The mckeys thought of Robert as a smart and kind child.

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Speaker 1: Robert even played with Eliza and eventually other McKey children.

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Speaker 1: He grew close to his half siblings, though while they

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Speaker 1: were at school. He worked alongside his mother as a houseboy.

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Speaker 1: Lydia reminded him that while they weren't free, their life

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Speaker 1: was better than those working in the field. To show

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Speaker 1: him how other black people lived, she took him to

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Speaker 1: a slave auction as well as the local jail to

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Speaker 1: witness a whipping of an enslaved man. She intended to

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Speaker 1: prepare her son for the future Robert, however, became angry

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Speaker 1: and rebellious. Allowed to be away from the plantation on

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Speaker 1: his own when labor was done, he'd often break curfew.

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Speaker 1: On more than one occasion, patrols brought him back to

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Speaker 1: the mckeys. Henry never punished him the way he had

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Speaker 1: seen that day at the jail, but undoubtedly Robert's continued

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Speaker 1: rebellion played a hand in Henry sending him to his

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Speaker 1: sister in law in Charleston when he turned to twelve.

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Speaker 1: Now away from home for the first time, Robert slept

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Speaker 1: in slave quarters and was hired out as a laborer,

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Speaker 1: a practice not uncommon at the time, known as Robert Small's.

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Speaker 1: He worked as a waiter at one of Charleston's most

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Speaker 1: prestigious hotels. From there, he worked with lamp lighters, cleaning

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Speaker 1: sooked from the globes. As the years past, he turned

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Speaker 1: his attention to the harbor, imagining what it would be

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Speaker 1: like to captain a ship. With Henry's permission, Robert found

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Speaker 1: work on the docks, loading and unloading cargo. With a

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Speaker 1: strong work ethic, his employer moved him to driving the

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Speaker 1: horses that made deliveries, and by the following summer he

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Speaker 1: was hired out to a schooner as a sailor. Along

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Speaker 1: with the job, he earned extra pay. While still not

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Speaker 1: a freeman, Robert made a life for himself. At seventeen,

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Speaker 1: he decided it was time to marry. He courted another

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Speaker 1: day laborer and enslaved girl named Hannah. There was a problem,

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Speaker 1: though she belonged to another property owner. Henry granted Robert

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Speaker 1: permission to marry and paid Hannah's owner for allowing the

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Speaker 1: two to wed. Robert thought marriage was practical. In his words,

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Speaker 1: he wanted someone to do for him and take care

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Speaker 1: of him, and Hannah fit the bill. While marriage certificates

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Speaker 1: were not granted to enslaved people, the McKee family hosted

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Speaker 1: a wedding at their plantation home, inviting a small number

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Speaker 1: of guests, including Lydia. When the couple had a daughter,

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Speaker 1: Robert worried that his family could be taken away from

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Speaker 1: him at any time and offered to buy his wife

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Speaker 1: and daughter from their owner. Although the price was too high,

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Speaker 1: Robert didn't give up hope he had saved his money. Besides,

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Speaker 1: times had begun to change. Lincoln's pushed end slavery didn't

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Speaker 1: go over well with wealthy plantation owners. Southern political leaders

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Speaker 1: in favor of keeping slavery part of the South, declared

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Speaker 1: that they would secede from the Union if Lincoln won

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Speaker 1: the eighteen sixty election. When their fears came to pass,

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Speaker 1: South Carolina became the first state to leave the Union

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Speaker 1: in December of eighteen sixty. In January of eighteen sixty one,

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Speaker 1: Union major Robert Anderson in Charleston withdrew his troops to

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Speaker 1: the island fortress Fort Sumter, seeing the fort as a stronghold.

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Speaker 1: Unwilling to allow Union forces to control a key point

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Speaker 1: in the harbor, the South Carolina militia fired upon a U.

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Speaker 1: S Ship delivering supplies to the fort, forcing the ship,

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Speaker 1: named the Star of the West, to retreat. On April

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Speaker 1: twelfth of eighteen sixty one, the first shots were fired

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Speaker 1: on the fort, starting the Civil War. South Carolina rejoiced

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Speaker 1: when Fort Sumter feld Confederate bombardment. The Charleston Mercury called

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Speaker 1: it a splendid pyrotechnic exhibition. Robert had hoped that the

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Speaker 1: new administration might make him and his family free. Instead,

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Speaker 1: little had changed, adding to his fears. He now had

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Speaker 1: a son raising the price to buy his family. When

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Speaker 1: the chance to join the crew of a Confederate ship

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Speaker 1: named the Planter presented itself, along with a raisin salary,

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Speaker 1: he eagerly accepted. As the war intensified, the Union authorized

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Speaker 1: the Confiscation Act, which allowed Federal forces to confiscate any

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Speaker 1: Confederate property, including enslaved people. The Union argued that any

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Speaker 1: young black man thus confiscated was able to fight against

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Speaker 1: the Confederacy. Within days of the news, dozens of escaped men, women,

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Speaker 1: and children arrived at the Union stronghold, Port Monroau seeking refuge.

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Speaker 1: By June, the number increased to nearly five hundred. In

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Speaker 1: the fall of eighteen sixty one, Robert had been promoted

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Speaker 1: to wheelman. The Planter's wartime job had changed to transporting

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Speaker 1: Confederate soldiers and supplies. South Carolina remained a battle ground

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Speaker 1: every day. Robert longed for freedom. When the Union had

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Speaker 1: taken over the harbor at Port Royal and freed the

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Speaker 1: enslaved there, including his mother, Lydia, he rejoiced, but ached

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Speaker 1: for the day that he and his family could live

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Speaker 1: free to In the meantime, he transported more Confederate soldiers

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Speaker 1: and more ammunition destined to be used against the very

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Speaker 1: people trying to free him. Um. When the Planter returned

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Speaker 1: to Charleston Southern Wharf, all seemed quiet aboard. The captain

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Speaker 1: and crew trusted him. He had worked hard and had

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Speaker 1: never given them a reason to doubt him. Below deck,

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Speaker 1: the ship was laden with ammunition destined for Confederate troops.

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Speaker 1: Under the starlit sky and soft breeze, Robert stood alone

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Speaker 1: on the deck. Escape he realized was now or never.

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Speaker 1: His plan was both brilliant and dangerous to steal a

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Speaker 1: Confederate general's ship loaded with ammunition and make it to

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Speaker 1: Union lines. If he got caught, he and everyone aboard

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Speaker 1: the ship would be killed. Pull it off, though, and

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Speaker 1: everyone would be free. Playing it through in his head

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Speaker 1: was one thing. Pulling it off was another. The Planter

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Speaker 1: wasn't stealthy. It produced a lot of smoke and was

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Speaker 1: rather noisy. Getting out of the harbor unnoticed would be

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Speaker 1: near impossible, so he'd have to impersonate a white general.

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Speaker 1: Robert had a plan for that too. They'd go in

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Speaker 1: the dead of night, and he'd wear long sleeves in

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Speaker 1: the general's wide brimmed hat. First, he and the others

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Speaker 1: needed to gather up the families of the enslaved men

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Speaker 1: on board, and hope that none of them talked or

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Speaker 1: backed out. Next, he would have to steer the ship

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Speaker 1: through the heavily guarded harbor. If they made it into

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Speaker 1: Union territory, they'd have to convince the North that they

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Speaker 1: weren't attacking, that they were surrendering. The plan had a

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Speaker 1: lot of potential pitfalls. There would be no second chances

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Speaker 1: and no room for error. He broached the subject with

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Speaker 1: Hannah first. If the plan failed, the men faced execution,

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Speaker 1: and their wives and children would be separated and sold off.

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Speaker 1: Hannah's reply was simple. Where he died, she died. His

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Speaker 1: fellow enslaved crew members agreed to the plan as well.

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Speaker 1: Freedom was worth the risk. Robert knew that the more

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Speaker 1: people involved, the more likely they'd get caught, but he

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Speaker 1: couldn't operate the Planter alone. He had to trust that

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Speaker 1: his crew members wouldn't get cold feet. When three of

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Speaker 1: the original six lost their nerve and backed out, he

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Speaker 1: scrambled to find three more men and hoped the others

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Speaker 1: would keep quiet. Every night, the general and the ship's

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Speaker 1: officers left the Planter, preferring to sleep in their own homes.

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Speaker 1: And thankfully. On the night of the heist, they left

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Speaker 1: the ship. As usual, Hannah rounded up the other men's families,

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Speaker 1: who had been left out on the plan until the

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Speaker 1: last minute, that have to be quiet when they arrived

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Speaker 1: at the ship. Although the women gathered their children and

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Speaker 1: followed Hannah, when they heard Robert's plan, some became frightened

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Speaker 1: and began to cry. The men hustled them on board

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Speaker 1: and locked them in a stateroom, threatening to kill the

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Speaker 1: first person who made another sound. The entire trip a

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Speaker 1: bit drastic sure the threat worked, though, and none of

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Speaker 1: the women or children made a single noise after that.

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Speaker 1: At three in the morning, the men stoked up the

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Speaker 1: steamship's fires. As plumes of smoke filled the air, and

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Speaker 1: there was no turning back. The men gathered hands and

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Speaker 1: vowed that if they were captured, that all jump overboard

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Speaker 1: and drowned themselves. At four, they raised the Confederate flag

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Speaker 1: and headed north. Robert kept the ship steady and that

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Speaker 1: a normal pace as the heavily guarded Fort Johnson came

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Speaker 1: into view. Once passed, he rang for more steam, but

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Speaker 1: the danger was far from over, and the men held

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Speaker 1: their breath. The most guarded and heavily armed checkpoint of

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Speaker 1: all came next, Fort Sumter. As the Planter cruised past,

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Speaker 1: a Century called out from the fort, blow the damn

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Speaker 1: Yankees to hell. Robert remained calm, tipping the jet earl's

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Speaker 1: wide brimmed hat had replied, ay I. Once Fort Sumter

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Speaker 1: was safely behind them, the men began to weep. They

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Speaker 1: made it through the worst. Now in Union territory, the

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Speaker 1: men scrambled to take down the Confederate flag and hoist

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Speaker 1: the white flags, signaling their surrender, before nearby Union ships

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Speaker 1: fired at them. Just as they finished, a Union ship approached.

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Speaker 1: Wary of the Planter's white flags, Captain John Nichols of

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Speaker 1: the Onward ordered all cannons pointed at the Planter. The

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Speaker 1: white flags could be a trick. Once the ships were

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Speaker 1: side by side, Robert hailed them, removing his hat. Nichols

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Speaker 1: was intrigued, and somehow a black man had managed to

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Speaker 1: commandeer a Confederate ship out of Charleston Harbor and passed

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Speaker 1: two checkpoints unnoticed. The two men stared at each other,

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Speaker 1: unsure what to do next. Robert broke the silence between them.

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Speaker 1: Good morning, sir, he said, as cheerful as possible. I've

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Speaker 1: brought you some of the old United States guns, Sir.

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Speaker 1: Not only had the enslaved man stolen a ship had

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Speaker 1: stolen one full of weapons. Astounded, Nichols boarded the ship

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Speaker 1: right away. Crew members asked if his ship had a

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Speaker 1: spare and proper United States flag for the Planter. He did.

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Speaker 1: The men hoisted the new flag, making the Planter a

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Speaker 1: Union vessel. At the port. Nichols wrote to his commanding

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Speaker 1: officer praising Robert's heroics. Congress agreed and awarded each of

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Speaker 1: the Planter's crew hundred dollars in reward money, about thirty

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Speaker 1: eight thousand each today. Finally, the crew and family aboard

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Speaker 1: the ship were free. By November of eighteen sixty three,

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Speaker 1: Hannah was pregnant with the couple's third child. Robert continued

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Speaker 1: his work as a crewman aboard the Planter, now a

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Speaker 1: Union ship carrying supplies from Foley Island to Morris Island.

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Speaker 1: During one delivery, the crew found themselves caught in the

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Speaker 1: crossfire between warring ships. The captain abandoned his post and

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Speaker 1: ran for cover, leaving the rest of the men on

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Speaker 1: deck to fend for themselves. Robert quickly took charge. Without

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Speaker 1: anyone to steer, the Planter would have undoubtedly been sunk.

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Speaker 1: Confederate soldiers would have hung him and the other black

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Speaker 1: crew members. He knew the ship well, and he commanded

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Speaker 1: the other deck hands while safely navigating the ship and

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Speaker 1: crew out of harm's way. Once out of danger, the

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00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,280
Speaker 1: captain took control once more. The crew finished their journey

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Speaker 1: without another incident and returned to home port. When the

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Speaker 1: chief quartermaster learned of Robert's bravery, he promoted him to

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Speaker 1: the captain of the Planter, the very ship had worked

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Speaker 1: on as a deckhand wheelman and had stolen. Along with

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00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:53,680
Speaker 1: the promotion came extra money. He and Hannah welcomed their

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00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,880
Speaker 1: new sons soon after that, making the boy the first

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Speaker 1: and the family not born into slavery. An extramount to

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00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,320
Speaker 1: feed was no longer a worry. His new salary afforded

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00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,480
Speaker 1: him and his family a very comfortable living. Life was good,

256
00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:12,720
Speaker 1: but he couldn't have predicted the changes and challenges to come.

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Speaker 1: By eighteen sixty four, the war was almost over. The

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Speaker 1: Union had taken over much of Charleston and the surrounding area,

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00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:32,720
Speaker 1: including any plantations abandoned for unpaid taxes. When the large

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Speaker 1: white house on Prince Street in Bufort became available, Robert

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00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,080
Speaker 1: thought the property had been born on, served in as

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00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:43,040
Speaker 1: a houseboy, and later married Hannah in The couple made

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Speaker 1: the mansion their own, sleeping in the master bedroom while

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00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,240
Speaker 1: their children each had their own rooms, rooms that had

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00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:54,720
Speaker 1: belonged to generations of McKay children. That May, Robert took

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00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,600
Speaker 1: his family to Philadelphia while the aging Planter underwent repairs.

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Speaker 1: During his absence, the people in Beaufort voted for him

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Speaker 1: to serve as a South Carolina delegate to the National

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Speaker 1: Union Party's convention in Baltimore. He declined the honor, keeping

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Speaker 1: his word to serve the Union. During their stay in Philadelphia,

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00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,960
Speaker 1: the Smallest worked on fundraisers that drew attention to the

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00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,920
Speaker 1: needs of freedmen across the country. Robert had become quite

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00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,200
Speaker 1: the celebrity, often appearing in newspapers over the years. Not

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Speaker 1: every freed person had it so easy, though. Segregation remained

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Speaker 1: an issue even in northern cities like Philadelphia. In June,

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Speaker 1: Robert and a white boat pilot boarded a street car.

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Speaker 1: The conductor refused to allow Robert to sit inside, insisting

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Speaker 1: that all people of color ride the platform. Instead, in

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00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:47,880
Speaker 1: a show of solidarity, the white pilot rode the front

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Speaker 1: of the street car with him. The news spread quickly,

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Speaker 1: sparking outrage that a Union hero had been disrespected. Robert's

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00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,200
Speaker 1: treatment sparked change. A month later, a Pennsylvania state senator

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00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:06,720
Speaker 1: argued for legislation to end segregation on street cars. After

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00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,480
Speaker 1: months in Philadelphia, the family returned home to Beaufort for Christmas.

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00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,119
Speaker 1: With their homecoming came the news of Sherman's march to

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Speaker 1: the Sea and the fall of Savannah. Robert and the

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00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,560
Speaker 1: Planter immediately set to work transporting Sherman's forces from Georgia.

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00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:27,200
Speaker 1: In February of eighteen sixty five, the Confederates abandoned Charleston,

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Speaker 1: with the city now in Union hands. Robert, his family,

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00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,880
Speaker 1: and the group of Union officers made the short trip

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00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,760
Speaker 1: there from Beaufort on the Planter. The city had taken

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Speaker 1: a beating during the war and barely resembled the place

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00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,160
Speaker 1: it had been that Starlit night long ago. Though had

294
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,919
Speaker 1: been gone for a few years, many of the townsfolk

295
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,800
Speaker 1: remembered him and were happy that had returned. He didn't

296
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,119
Speaker 1: stay in the city long, although he and the Planter

297
00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,359
Speaker 1: made several humanitarian aid trips there in the months to come.

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Speaker 1: With each trip, he watched his the people in Charleston

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00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,520
Speaker 1: undertook the slow and painful process of rebuilding. He hoped

300
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,800
Speaker 1: that the worst was behind them. That wasn't to be, however.

301
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,200
Speaker 1: The news of President Lincoln's assassination emboldened bitter Southerners looking

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00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,240
Speaker 1: to return to their old ways. Henry McKee's widow sued

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00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:23,919
Speaker 1: Robert in an attempt to reclaim the mansion on Prince Street. Fortunately,

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00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,080
Speaker 1: the judge ruled against her, and Robert retained his home.

305
00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,680
Speaker 1: Seeking peace between his family and the mckeys, he allowed

306
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,080
Speaker 1: the ailing widow and a few of the McKey children

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00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,440
Speaker 1: to stay at the mansion until their mother's death. When

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00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 1: the family moved out, he learned that one of the

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Speaker 1: McKey daughters needed financial assistance. As a continued gesture of goodwill,

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Speaker 1: he gave her a small sum to help her get

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00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,320
Speaker 1: by and recommended her sixteen year old son for a

312
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,240
Speaker 1: position at the U. S. Naval Academy. Robert continued his

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00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,800
Speaker 1: work as the captain aboard the Planter for seventeen more missions.

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Speaker 1: One May, during his final mission, he was transporting to

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Speaker 1: Union generals, a colonel and the major from Savannah to

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00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,480
Speaker 1: investigate islands off the Georgia and Florida coast. As they

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00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,480
Speaker 1: made their way back to South Carolina, they noticed another

318
00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,399
Speaker 1: ship closing in on them. The other boat pulled alongside

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Speaker 1: the Planter, giving the men a chance to read the

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00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,600
Speaker 1: ship's name and see the men aboard. The Fannie was

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00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,920
Speaker 1: a newer steamship owned by one John Ferguson. On deck

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00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,520
Speaker 1: stood a man Robert knew simply as McNulty. Within minutes,

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00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,679
Speaker 1: the other ship pulled away, leaving the officers wondering what

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00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,440
Speaker 1: had just happened. What they didn't know was that Ferguson

325
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,480
Speaker 1: had owned the Planter the night Robert commandeered it into

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00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:46,040
Speaker 1: Union Territory, where it was confiscated, and McNulty was not

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00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,520
Speaker 1: only the prior owner's employee, he was a loyal follower.

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00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,080
Speaker 1: Seeing the Planter flying in American flag with Robert as

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00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:58,639
Speaker 1: the captain had likely sent him into a rage. Robert

330
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,199
Speaker 1: kept watch on the other steam ship as it pulled ahead.

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00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 1: His uneasy feeling panned out when the Fanny suddenly veered sideways,

332
00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:10,320
Speaker 1: blocking the Planter's path instead of veering off. Robert plowed

333
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,119
Speaker 1: into the other ship's port side, pushing it half a

334
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,080
Speaker 1: mile up the Savannah River. Furious that his boat had

335
00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:20,600
Speaker 1: just been rammed, McNulty emerged from the cabin brandishing a pistol.

336
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Speaker 1: In turn, Robert grabbed his shotgun. Both men leveled their

337
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,080
Speaker 1: guns at one another while the general repeatedly ordered McNulty

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Speaker 1: to put away his gun. After a few tense moments,

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00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,639
Speaker 1: the general talked both men into lowering their weapons. The

340
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,800
Speaker 1: captain of the Fanny steered the steamboat around, and both

341
00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,679
Speaker 1: ships headed back to port in Savannah. Once there, the

342
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,399
Speaker 1: General ordered McNulty's arrest. Ferguson never gave up trying to

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00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 1: regain his former ship. When the Planter went to auction

344
00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,080
Speaker 1: back in Charleston, he managed to buy it from the

345
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,400
Speaker 1: winning bidder. Ferguson didn't have it back for long, though.

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Speaker 1: On March twenty fifth of eighteen seventy six, the Planter

347
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,520
Speaker 1: sprung a leak in the bow while attempting to tow

348
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,159
Speaker 1: a schooner. The captain wanted to beach the steamer, but

349
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,439
Speaker 1: rough seas caused extensive damage and the ship took on

350
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,320
Speaker 1: too much water. The crew abandoned the Planter and it

351
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:21,159
Speaker 1: sank off shore. Upon hearing the news, Robert said he

352
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,680
Speaker 1: felt as though had lost a family member. His life

353
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,840
Speaker 1: as a captain might have ended, but he wasn't quite

354
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:38,960
Speaker 1: done making history. No longer a captain or serving the Union,

355
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,240
Speaker 1: Robert moved on to other things, namely being a father.

356
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,880
Speaker 1: Having never learned to read as a boy, he made

357
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 1: sure his children went to the best schools. Wanting other

358
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,199
Speaker 1: children of color to have a solid education, he started

359
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,159
Speaker 1: a school for African American children in eighteen sixty seven.

360
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 1: The school wasn't his only venture. Robert also opened a

361
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,800
Speaker 1: general store and started a small newspaper. There. He found

362
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,359
Speaker 1: an audience, and, wanting to implement more changes, he became

363
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:15,080
Speaker 1: interested in politics. In eighteen sixty eight, he was elected

364
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Speaker 1: to the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he lobbied

365
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:23,320
Speaker 1: for compulsory free schooling for all children in South Carolina. Later,

366
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,720
Speaker 1: he was elected to the South Carolina Senate. Robert continued

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00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,679
Speaker 1: to grow his wealth. He bought several properties in his

368
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,240
Speaker 1: home town and heavily invested in its economic development. In

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00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,639
Speaker 1: eighteen seventy, he and other representatives formed the Enterprise Railroad.

370
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 1: This horse drawn railway covered eighteen miles and carried cargo

371
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:49,280
Speaker 1: and passengers between Charleston and inland depots. The railway venture

372
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,560
Speaker 1: was predominantly black owned, prompting author Bernard E. Powers to

373
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,480
Speaker 1: describe it as the most impressive commercial venture by members

374
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,679
Speaker 1: of Charleston's black elite. Robert continued to move up in politics,

375
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,200
Speaker 1: becoming a member of Congress in eighteen seventy four, where

376
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,520
Speaker 1: he fought for black voter rights across the South. He

377
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,840
Speaker 1: was a proud Republican and said the Party of Lincoln

378
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: had unshackled the next of four million human beings. While

379
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,280
Speaker 1: serving in the state Senate, in eighteen seventy seven, he

380
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 1: was charged and arrested for reportedly taking a five thousand

381
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,919
Speaker 1: dollar bribe, and that's about a hundred and fourteen thousand today.

382
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,119
Speaker 1: He was convicted and served time in prison before the

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00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:36,879
Speaker 1: governor pardoned him in eighteen seventy nine. Hannah died unexpectedly

384
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty three. Saddened by the loss, Robert threw

385
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 1: himself deeper into his political work. In eighteen ninety, he

386
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,199
Speaker 1: met and married Annie, a teacher sixteen years his junior.

387
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,520
Speaker 1: That same year, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him as the

388
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:56,439
Speaker 1: U S customs collector in Beaufort. Robert and Annie had

389
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,800
Speaker 1: a son together, and sadly, though he became widowed once

390
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 1: again end just five years later. Robert remained customs collector

391
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 1: until his retirement in nineteen eleven. The military tried to

392
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,520
Speaker 1: lure him back into service twice in the early nineteen hundreds.

393
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,439
Speaker 1: He turned down the opportunity to rejoin the military as

394
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,720
Speaker 1: a U. S Army colonel, and he declined another offer

395
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:23,200
Speaker 1: of the post of Minister to Liberia. Content with retirement,

396
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 1: Robert stayed at the mansion on Prince Street. Though his

397
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,520
Speaker 1: children were grown and had moved away, and he never

398
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 1: married again, it was his home and where he felt comfortable.

399
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:38,560
Speaker 1: He had developed diabetes, and after about of malaria, Robert

400
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 1: Smalls passed away and the home had been born into.

401
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,439
Speaker 1: On February twenty third, nineteen fifteen, at the age of

402
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,359
Speaker 1: seventy five, his children returned to bury their father in

403
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 1: the family plot at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort.

404
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: After a life full of enormous accomplishments, it was time

405
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:08,680
Speaker 1: for Robert to rest. There's more to this story. Stick

406
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,440
Speaker 1: around after this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

407
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,240
Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty three, twenty four year old Union officer

408
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,159
Speaker 1: Robert Gould Shaw led his men into battle who Some

409
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:29,120
Speaker 1: thought the men were subpar risky, but Shaw couldn't disagree. More,

410
00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:32,959
Speaker 1: it didn't matter to him that his entire unit was black.

411
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,600
Speaker 1: In fact, he was honored to lead them. It started

412
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,439
Speaker 1: when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew called for black citizens to

413
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,399
Speaker 1: enlist during the Civil War. Many Union officials thought that

414
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 1: African American troops might lack discipline, be hard to train

415
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:53,639
Speaker 1: or run during combat, and seeing potential where others did not,

416
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,040
Speaker 1: Governor Andrew went to Washington to plead his case to

417
00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:02,480
Speaker 1: the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Stanton wholeheartedly agreed and

418
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: issued the order allowing Andrew to proceed with the creation

419
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,800
Speaker 1: of the fifty fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He asked Shaw

420
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,800
Speaker 1: to lead the regiment, but the young officer hesitated. He'd

421
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,600
Speaker 1: have to leave behind his men, and he felt unsure

422
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,200
Speaker 1: that the Union would allow black soldiers to fight on

423
00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:24,600
Speaker 1: the front lines. Eventually, he agreed and the process of

424
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:30,120
Speaker 1: enlistment began. It proved difficult at first, but Andrew promised

425
00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:33,440
Speaker 1: recruits thirteen dollars a month that's about three thousand, seven

426
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,399
Speaker 1: hundred dollars to day, and assured them that if they

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Speaker 1: were captured, the United States would do everything within their

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00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 1: power to guarantee that they were treated no differently than

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Speaker 1: their white counterparts. While some had once been enslaved, others

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Speaker 1: were citizens from all over the North. Two recruits were

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Speaker 1: the sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglas, and on February fifteenth,

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Speaker 1: Shaw began training his men. They impressed him greatly, learning

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00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:06,640
Speaker 1: quickly and paying attention to detail. Before long he dispelled

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Speaker 1: the naysayers. Shaw boasted that the men were as fine

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Speaker 1: as any he had ever served with, but shortly after

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00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,520
Speaker 1: training the new regiment, he was promoted to major. The

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00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 1: regiment's first mission landed them in Georgia, where they joined

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Speaker 1: up with another group for a raid. The other regiment

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00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,719
Speaker 1: looted and burned buildings, but Shaw and his men refused, appalled,

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00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,480
Speaker 1: he believed burning buildings served no purpose and that the

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Speaker 1: practice of leaving women and children without food and shelter

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00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,880
Speaker 1: was barbaric. After completing their first mission, he was promoted

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Speaker 1: to colonel. Their next assignment was in Charleston, and the

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00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,400
Speaker 1: battle there would be a tough one they needed to

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00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:51,000
Speaker 1: capture Fort Wagner, a heavily guarded and exceptionally well armed garrison.

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00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,160
Speaker 1: Despite being outnumbered, on July eighth, Shaw's men followed him

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00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 1: into battle, yelling forward, fifty four the regiment crossed the

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Speaker 1: moat and scrambled up a muddy hill outside the fort's

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Speaker 1: outer wall. There they came under heavy fire, yet not

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Speaker 1: one man backed down. They surged forward, even after Shaw

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00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,959
Speaker 1: had been shot three times through the chest. The fifty

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00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 1: fourth fought valiantly until driven back around ten o'clock that night.

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Speaker 1: The losses were heavy, though Frederick Douglas's sons both survived.

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Speaker 1: After the battle, Confederate forces returned the bodies of white soldiers,

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00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 1: with one exception Shaw. Confederate General Charles Douglas said that

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Speaker 1: Shaw had been buried in a mass grave alongside his

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Speaker 1: black soldiers, and that had the colonel commanded white men,

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00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,960
Speaker 1: he would have been returned. General Douglas meant his remarks

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Speaker 1: to be the highest insult he could give. However, Shaw's

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00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,360
Speaker 1: family and friends knew exactly how it felt about his men,

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Speaker 1: and considered his burial with them an honor. The sling

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Speaker 1: Colonel's father stood before the public and told them how

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Speaker 1: proud he was of his son and his troops. He

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Speaker 1: added that his son had not been just a soldier,

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Speaker 1: he had been a crusader for emancipation and could not

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Speaker 1: have died in better company. Massachusetts legislators could think of

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Speaker 1: no better expression of gratitude for Shaw and the heroic

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Speaker 1: black soldiers of the than to commission world famous artist

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00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,760
Speaker 1: Augustus st. Gaudens to erect a memorial. The black citizens

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00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,480
Speaker 1: of Beaufort, South Carolina began raising funds immediately after the battle,

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Speaker 1: but due to unstable soil and some white resentment, funds

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00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 1: were redirected to Boston. The bronze memorial dedicated to Shaw

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Speaker 1: in the fifty four Regiment was unveiled on May on

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Speaker 1: the Boston Common. Augustus recaptured the moment that Shaw rode

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Speaker 1: horseback alongside his beloved men as they marched out of

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Speaker 1: Boston toward war. Rain fell the day of the unveiling,

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Speaker 1: but it didn't stop Boston from turning out in droves.

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Speaker 1: A band struck up the battle Hymn of the Republic.

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Speaker 1: The local artillery battery fired a seventeen gun salute offshore.

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Speaker 1: Three warships each fired twenty one gun salutes. Sixty black

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Speaker 1: men stood in the streets, most wearing their Union uniforms. Forward,

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Speaker 1: they shouted, and the men, still as fine and still

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00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,880
Speaker 1: as courageous, said Shaw had ever seen, led a parade

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Speaker 1: down the streets of Boston, and the crowd couldn't help

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Speaker 1: but cheer. American Shadows as hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This

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00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,880
Speaker 1: episode was written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed,

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00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,720
Speaker 1: and produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive

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00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,480
Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn

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00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,360
Speaker 1: more about the show, visit Grim and Mild dot com.

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00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:01,720
Speaker 1: From more Po pedcast from i Heeart Radio, visit the

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00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:06,200
Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: H