Governor McMaster signs law calling for monument to South Carolina Civil War hero Robert Smalls

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – Gov. Henry McMaster placed his signature Thursday on a bill that will celebrate a South Carolina Civil War hero on the State House grounds.

A ceremonial bill signing for a monument to Robert Smalls took place at the State House Thursday afternoon.

“Our state and people are unique from anywhere else in the world because of extraordinary individuals like Robert Smalls, whose legacies have shaped our state into what it is today,” McMaster said. “This monument will help preserve an important piece of our rich history and ensure the legacy and accomplishments of Roberts Smalls will not be soon forgotten.”

The General Assembly passed H.5042, the Robert Smalls Monument Bill, earlier this year. The bill calls for the first monument to be erected and placed on the State House Grounds to celebrate a single African American.

“By passing this bill, we acknowledge the importance of preserving and sharing the stories of those who have fought for the ideals that define our beloved state,” Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, said. “It is through remembering our past and learning from it that we can shape a better future.”

The bill passed the South Carolina Senate and House unanimously.

“What we’re doing is very significant in state history and recognizing someone very significant in our history,” Rep. Brandon Cox, R-Berkeley, said on Wednesday.

Smalls was born into slavery in Beaufort on April 5, 1839. During the Civil War, Smalls was 23 when he escaped by commandeering a Confederate ship on which he worked. He sailed himself, his crew and their families to freedom through a gauntlet of gunboats and forts, the text of the bill states.

He went on to serve the Union Army as a civilian boat pilot, acted as a spokesman for African Americans and became the first black captain of an Army vessel for his valor.

Smalls eventually was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and later the South Carolina Senate. He would then serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lawmakers credited Smalls with playing “a critical role in bridging relations between the black and white communities during and after Reconstruction.”

He founded the Enterprise Railroad Company in Charleston and served as a brigadier general of the South Carolina Militia, opened a store for freedmen and a school for black children, published The Beaufort Southern Standard newspaper and served as the U.S. Customs collector at the port of Beaufort.

More than 90 years after Smalls’ death on Feb. 22, 1915, the U.S. Army christened the support vessel Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls, the first time it named a ship after an African American, in 2007.

They met for the first time Wednesday and are tasked with working out the details of where this monument will be placed and what it will look like.

“Make sure that we do, among other things, get this right,” Malloy said. “The historical perspective has to have a narrative that will support and sustain and embody what this state is and what he meant to our state. It should not be lopsided. It should be a true picture of a South Carolina and American hero.”

“This is a great thing for all of South Carolina. It’s a good educational tool, and I think that is as important as anything,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said. “And as Sen. Malloy said, we’ve got to get the narrative right because this is going to tell a story, and I think it’s important that we tell that the right way to honor him.”

They also have to raise money for the project, which will be entirely funded by donations.

“I’m really looking forward to the day where I get to bring my children and my grandchildren up here to the State House grounds, and I get to allow them to read whatever’s going to be on that monument,” Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, said. “And these are the type of heroes I want you to look up to and exemplify.”

The committee is on a tight schedule. It needs to submit a proposal for the monument’s design and location by Jan. 15, while the actual monument will need to go up by Jan. 15, 2028.

The monument bill was officially ratified on May 15 and McMaster signed it five days later. Thursday’s signing at the State House is ceremonial.

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and other members of the General Assembly are expected to attend.

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