Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s American Heroes

Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief

By Jr, Robert A. Donnelly & Faricy, Patrick

Publishers Summary:
On a moonlit night in the spring of 1862, six slaves stole one of the Confederacy's most crucial gunships from its wharf in the South Carolina port of Charleston, and delivered it to the Federal Navy. This audacious and intricately coordinated escape, masterminded by a 24-year-old sailor named Robert Smalls, astonished the world and exploded the Confederate claim that Southern slaves did not crave freedom or have the ability to take decisive action. Robert Smalls's heroic career had only begun. A brilliant sailor and strategist, he was quickly promoted to the rank of captain in the Federal Navy where he served courageously in many critical battles. Not only was Smalls a great soldier, he was also a powerful activist, whose appeal to Abraham Lincoln convinced the president to enlist 5,000 former slaves, shattering the color barrier that had kept black men out of the service. Smalls drew great crowds as an eloquent public speaker, and his outstanding character inspired the broad public support that encouraged Lincoln to ratify the Emancipation Proclamation. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells the story of another great American hero, a man who did not flinch in the face of extraordinary dangers--a man whose dedication to the cause of freedom made him one the most important participants in the American Civil War.Read MoreRead Less

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ISBN
978-1-42310-802-3
Publisher


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on February 1, 2009

Gr 5-8 This title celebrates the life of a little-known African-American hero. Born into slavery off the coast of South Carolina, Smalls later saved $700almost enough to buy his young family's freedom. When the birth of a second child put a higher price on the prize, he started thinking of escape. In May of 1862, as a deckhand on a Confederate battleship, he and a small group of slaves and their families boarded the "Planter" in the dead of ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2008

Robert Smalls, a slave and skilled sailor, maneuvers a ship manned by other slaves past guards in South Carolina to freedom. He l...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Junior Library Guild

Reviewed on November 1, 2008

In Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. puts Smalls’s escape in a broader context: that of Smalls’s life of struggle and service to his country. The events of the boat theft are skillfully narrated, full of details that bring the story to life and increase the suspense. For example, at 3:00 am, Smalls broke into the officers’ quarters to steal a straw captain’s hat and uniform, which would allow him to pass for a Confederate captain in the early morning light. T...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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