98. Steal Away to Freedom: The Letters and Legacy of Robert Smalls

In this episode of One Sealed Letter, we trace the extraordinary life of Robert Smalls through three of his letters—each one a window into a different chapter of his transformation from enslaved pilot to Civil War hero to U.S. Congressman.

We begin with his 1862 public letter, written just months after he commandeered a Confederate warship and delivered his family—and his crewmates—to freedom. In it, he rebukes false rumors and asserts his unwavering commitment to the Union cause and the fight to end slavery.

Next, we explore a deeply personal letter sent to the widow of his former enslaver—inviting her, in an astonishing act of grace, to live in the very house where he and his mother had once been held in bondage.

Finally, we read his 1890 article published in the North American Review, where Smalls—now a seasoned statesman—exposes the rampant voter suppression and racial terror dismantling Reconstruction.

Together, these letters form a powerful arc of resistance, reconciliation, and resolve. Smalls was not only a man of action—he was a man of words. And those words still carry.

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Primary and Secondary Sources:

• Smalls, Robert. Letter to the Lowell Daily Citizen, September 1862; reprinted in The Liberator (Boston), September 26, 1862, under the title “A Colored Man’s Reply to Senator Pomeroy.”

• Smalls, Robert. “Election Methods in the South.” North American Review, vol. 151, no. 405, November 1890, pp. 589–597.

Read here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25102082?seq=1

• Historical summary and correspondence references from:

– Smithsonian Magazine: “The Daring Civil War Escape of Robert Smalls”

– Gale Library Blog: “From Slave to Senator”

– House of Representatives History Archive: Biography and political record of Robert Smalls

– Cricket Media: “The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls” (incl. account of the McKee letter and train fare)

– Slideplayer Archives: Selected quotes from Smalls’s 1890 article and Reconstruction context

– New York Tribune, May 1862: Early coverage of Smalls’s escape and Northern public reaction

– The Liberator and abolitionist press: Archival commentary on Smalls’s letters and influence