Robert Smalls may be best known for being a 23-year-old slave that was pressed into service for the Confederacy aboard a warship called the Planter. For nearly a year, he quietly observed the movements of the ship and it's crew. Just before dawn, on May 13, 1862, Smalls took his chance. While the ship’s officers slept ashore, he and his fellow slave crewmen pulled anchor and eased the Planter into the Charleston Harbor. They had prearranged to meet their family members there. Together, they embarked on an extremely dangerous journey. Smalls had to navigate the ship past four Confederate checkpoints; Castle Pinckney, Fort Ripley, Fort Johnson and Fort Sumter. After successfully doing so, he then had to safely approach the vessels of the Union naval blockade. Their vessel was not fired upon. As shocked Union officers began boarding the Planter, they were met by Smalls, standing at attention, who saluted, and said “I am delivering this war material including these cannons and I think Uncle Abraham Lincoln can put them to good use.” Smalls went on to serve with the Union during the war, and in 1868, in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Robert Smalls was later elected to the U.S. Congress to begin his first term in 1875.