Robert Smalls

It was Robert Smalls’ heroics that convinced President Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army. Smalls would go on to become a ship’s pilot and sea captain for the Union forces, and eventually a member of the United States House of Representatives for the state of South Carolina. When Smalls left office in 1887, he would be the last Republican to represent South Carolina’s 5th congressional district until 2010.