FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2008
Krista Robertson
krobertson@trio-solutions.com
(843) 216-0442 or
(843) 224-8089

First U.S. Army Vessel to Bear Name of an African American Visits Charleston

Charleston, SC, June 12, 2008 --- In 1862 Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, commandeered the U.S.S. Planter, a 147-feet long Confederate transport steamer, from Charleston's Southern Wharf. With his wife, children and 12 other slaves aboard, he gave the correct whistle signal as he sailed past the rebel forts in the harbor. He then headed to sea and surrendered to the nearest Union vessel.

On Monday, June 23, 2008, 146 years after Smalls' gallant dash to freedom, one of the U.S. Army's largest assets, the Major General (MG) Robert Smalls, its commander and crew of 35 soldiers will make an historic sail past Charleston's Southern Wharf. The $25 million U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) MG Robert Smalls, a Logistics Support Vessel (LSV-8), is 314-feet long, with a 60-feet beam and 2,000-ton payload. Like the ship Smalls sailed to freedom, the MG Robert Smalls is a transport vessel and will be used to re-supply soldiers worldwide. The MG Robert Smalls is the first U.S. Army ship to bear the name of an African American and the first named for a Civil War hero.

Kitt Haley Alexander, a Washington D.C.-area photographer and historian, will be aboard the vessel when it passes Southern Wharf. Alexander single-handedly waged a seven-year campaign to have a ship named for Smalls. Also aboard the vessel will be the spirit of the late Dolly Nash, Robert Smalls' great-granddaughter, who collaborated with Alexander in creating the photographic exhibition, Robert Smalls - Slave, Soldier, Statesman, to honor Smalls.

During the Civil War, Smalls served under the command of both the Navy and Army, but was never a member of either service. In 1863, after an act of bravery under fire, Smalls piloted Keokuk, an ironclad, in a failed Union attack on Fort Sumter and became the first black person to captain a U.S. vessel.

After the war, Smalls helped draft the constitution for the state of South Carolina. He became a South Carolina legislator, a major general in the state's militia and served five terms in the U.S. Congress. For nearly 20 years, Smalls served as U.S. Collector of Customs in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he lived in the house where he had been a slave.

Ship Arrival: Monday, June 23, 2008 at approximately 1 p.m.

Berth: Cruise Ship Passenger Terminal, 196 Concord Street, Charleston, SC

Event: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Open to the Public
10 a.m. - A ceremony commemorating the historic return to Charleston
2:30 p.m. - A libation ceremony performed by Queen Quet, Marquetta L. Goodwine, Gullah Geechee Sea Island Coalition

Ship Departure: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at approximately 6 p.m.

This historic event is being co-hosted by the National Park Service Fort Sumter Monument, the African-American Historical Alliance, the South Carolina African-American Heritage Commission, the 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry USCT Re-enactors and the Robert Smalls Legacy Foundation Inc. For more information contact Michael Allen, education specialist for the National Park Service, Fort Sumter Group at (843) 881-5516 ext. 12.