On this date, May 13, in 1862, Robert Smalls freed himself and other families from slavery. He accomplished this feat by commandeering the CSS Planter, a Confederate ship, and sailing it beyond a Federal blockade to freedom.

According to Wikipedia: “After the American Civil War, [Robert Smalls] became a politician, elected to the South Carolina State legislature and the United States House of Representatives. As a politician, Smalls authored state legislation providing for South Carolina to have the first free and compulsory public school system in the United States, and founded the Republican Party of South Carolina. He is notable as the last Republican to represent South Carolina’s 5th congressional district until 2010.”