Who is Captain Robert Smalls?

Sun and fun to everyone!

We took a trip to Beaufort, SC to visit the home of Captain Robert Smalls!

Robert Smalls was born in April, 1839, in Beaufort, South Carolina. He was a fascinating man! Born into slavery, he went on to purchase his freedom, and the freedom of his family.

Captain Robert Smalls, an American Hero!

His legacy is one that lives on in Beaufort, SC. The house where he was enslaved became his home after he later purchased it. It’s still a beautiful house today, and we were privileged to be able to see it.

The once enslaved Robert Smalls, became Captain Smalls after he commandeered a Confederate ship. He sailed the “Planter” into Union territory, he turned over the charts, Confederate naval code book, and the ship itself.

A replica of the Planter ship Smalls commandeered.

This was no easy feat. You see he was hired as a deckhand, and because he was a black man, he was not taught how to sail. He was left only to guard and load the ship.

When he commandeered the Planter, he sailed past five ports. He had to give the correct whistle signals to indicate a Confederate ship. He had studied and listened day after day.

Smalls not only sailed the ship with himself aboard, he also took his wife, children, and twelve others, who were enslaved.

After this major feat, Smalls went on to become Captain Robert Smalls. He was the first black man to hold this rank in US Navy history!

Capt. Smalls went into politics, and was elected to the SC House of Representatives and then the Senate.

This is the actual desk of Captain Smalls!

Touching history at it's finest...

After years in politics, Capt. Smalls settled back home to Beaufort, where he resided and purchased the house where he was once enslaved. He died in Beaufort in February 1915.

A replica of Captain Smalls home in Beaufort, SC. 

Captain Robert Smalls, a BIG man in history!

Why is this not taught in public schools?

Our plans, His hands.

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Say hello to our new friends!

Sun and fun to everyone!

One of the greatest things about our trip is meeting new people and making new friends! Say hello to some of our new friends!

Ms. Carrington, Historian extraordinaire. 

Ms. Toby Smith, Owner of Sister Voices Near the Sea Magazine.

Dr. Nicole!  Need I say more?

Our friends Carol & Henry from "Fields to Families"! 

Ms. Gretchen from Jenkins Institute for children.

Ms. Hilda, gutsy camper with a big heart!

For all you "dog" lovers out there!

Ty's "catfish" friend, Ronald. He can cook too!

A great couple, Mr. & Mrs. Friesen!

Pat Dukes, our friend, who makes the best jam and pasta sauce! 

New friends, the Corona family! 

Ms. Kim, THE best librarian ever. Thanks for the books! There's Swift!
You'll see more of her soon...

Lori, fellow camper and friend. She got her copy of Swift Walker!

Mrs. French. Co-owner (with husband) of The Chronicle Newspaper
for over 50 years!

Ty's fishing buddy.. He was so excited to show Ty this catfish!

Pat again with her husband John Dukes. 

We're watching our children play together in the water! I'm snapping the pictures.

I'll introduce more of our new friends later.

Our plans, His hands.

To order your Swift Walker books and other products, click on the link below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

http://astore.amazon.com/plumstreetpress-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=8

Historic Charleston SC

Sun and fun to everyone!

Another great visit, this time to Downtown, Charleston. We visited a place called The Market.
I'll let the pictures tell the story!

Our first stop. The "sweetgrass" baskets! We watched her weave a basket.
What talent and patience.

Meet Mrs. Jefferson, the Master basket weaver!
She's been weaving baskets since she was a little girl.

These baskets have a history deep in the Gullah Geechee tradition.
The Gullah Geechee people were from West Africa and ended up here in SC.
All of these baskets were hand made by Mrs. Jefferson.
These baskets were beautiful and very heavy!

This is a portrait of Mr. Philip Simmons, a Master Blacksmith.
His iron work and design can still be found in SC, today.
We hope to visit some of his sites before we leave.

Packed lunch at the visitors center. Saving money, that's the name of the game!

Enjoying some water works while waiting for the trolley.

Here comes the trolley!

The Market was CROWDED!!!  

Meet Sheinata! She's a jewelry and clothes designer.
She has a shop in The Market.

Can you spot Swift Walker?

All of Sheinata's jewelry is made with stones, and cowrie shells
from Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, Africa.
Her clothe is also from Africa.
I wanted to buy everything. 

Her pieces are one of a kind and beautiful. They all tell a story.
Visit her site: www.reflectionsafricanjewelry.com  

This young man is Quadre' Stuckey, he's an artist. His work is featured
in The Market. I'll post a video about him later on.

Quadre' dropped some serious knowledge about the currency
in the early south. See the image below.
I'll most definitely post more on what I learned from him
and the book we purchased.

Watch for more about this money and the propaganda behind it!

Charleston, SC, is known for the history of the Gullah Geechee People.
The history here is priceless, and we are still learning.
I'll do a whole post on this subject later.

A ride back on the trolley. The ride to The Market was super crowded.
The ride back was pretty empty. We got to pick our seats!

Boys will be boys!

My driver, photographer, and husband. I think I'll keep him! 

Future photographer right here! 

Our time here was a learning adventure, and we got to meet more extraordinary people. There was so much to catch. I'll have to divide these posts into individual posts in order to tell the stories behind all the pictures.

Thank you for joining us on this great journey!

Our plans, His hands.

To get your Swift Walker books and products, click on the link below. Your support is much appreciated. Thank you.

http://astore.amazon.com/plumstreetpress-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=8