Robert Smalls monument marks historic first at South Carolina State House

Robert Smalls monument marks historic first at South Carolina State House

Speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony described the monument as a long-awaited recognition of Smalls’ impact on South Carolina and the nation.

164 years after Robert Smalls' escape from slavery, SC legislators celebrate planned monument • SC Daily Gazette

Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Walterboro, speaks about Robert Smalls outside the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)COLUMBIA — In the early hours of May 13, 1862, an enslaved man delivered himself, his fellow crew members and their families past a Confederate barricade to freedom. Exactly 164 years later, on the state-designated day commemorating the escape, state lawmakers celebrated Robert S…

Lawmakers and SC leaders break ground for statue honoring Robert Smalls at Statehouse

State leaders broke ground where a statue of Civil War Hero Robert Smalls will be placed after the state secures funding for the memorial.

From slavery to the State House - Lawmakers break ground on Robert Smalls Monument

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — From being born into slavery — to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives — Robert Smalls will soon be memorialized on State House grounds. And figures like George Washington, Ben Tillman, Wade Hampton, and Strom Thurmond will soon be in new company. Wednesday morning, a number of Democratic and Republican legislators joined alongside Governor Henry McMaster to celebrate the future site of a 12-foot monument for the fo…

SC legislators celebrate planned monument 164 years after Robert Smalls’ escape from slavery

Legislators call for donations to actually build statue expected to cost between $1 million and $2 million By Skylar LairdSCDailyGazette.com COLUMBIA — In the early hours of May 13, 1862, an enslaved man delivered himself, his fellow crew members and their families past a Confederate barricade to freedom. Exactly 164 years later, on the state-designated day commemorating the escape, state lawmakers celebrated Robert Smalls and the legacy they ho…