Robert Smalls was born enslaved in South Carolina, in a world where freedom was forbidden and intelligence was dangerous.
But Robert learned the waterways.
He learned the tides.
He learned the rhythms of ships and schedules and signals.
And when the moment came, he used what he knew.
In 1862, Robert Smalls did something no one thought possible. He commandeered a Confederate ship, the CSS Planter, disguised himself in the captain’s uniform, navigated past enemy forts using the correct signals — and delivered himself, his family, and others to freedom.
He did not fire a single shot.
He trusted knowledge.
He trusted timing.
And he trusted that God had already made a way through the water.
In my own family, there are those who make a “not quite” substantiated claim to Robert Smalls — simply because his last name appears in our family line.
I don’t have records to prove it or disprove it.
I don’t make the claim as fact. But who can deny greatness.
However, the instinct matters.
Because sometimes what we are really claiming is not blood —
but admiration.
Not lineage —
but legacy.
Robert Smalls didn’t stop with freedom.
He went on to serve in the U.S. Navy, help recruit Black soldiers, become a U.S. Congressman, and fight for education, voting rights, and dignity for formerly enslaved people.
And still — he faced resistance.
He was pushed aside.
His leadership was minimized.
His voice was not always welcomed in the halls he helped open.
He was victorious without reward in more ways than one.
More than a century after his courage changed the course of history, the nation finally spoke his name aloud.
In 2023, the U.S. Navy commissioned a ship in his honor — the USS Robert Smalls.
It did not restore what had been denied.
It did not erase the years of resistance he faced.
It did not repay the cost of standing firm in a country slow to remember.
But it did stand as a quiet admission.
The Navy knew who led that ship long before history said it plainly.
And eventually, even delayed recognition had to follow truth.
Robert Smalls teaches us that God often prepares people long before the moment arrives.
“I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” — Isaiah 43:19
Robert didn’t create the river.
He learned it.
He didn’t invent the escape.
He recognized the opening.
Faith sometimes looks like courage.
Sometimes it looks like preparation.
And sometimes it looks like steering calmly through danger because you know where the water leads.
For the One Reading This Today
If you have ever:
prepared quietly for something no one else saw coming
felt drawn to a story because it felt familiar in your spirit
honored someone not because they were yours — but because they were right
trusted God to guide you through impossible terrain
Robert Smalls stands with you.
You don’t have to claim someone as family to carry their courage forward.
Legacy travels deeper than blood.
We see you, Robert.
We honor the way you led others through.
Bread Crumbs — for those coming after us.
Victorious without reward. Still here.
Love, Chelle
defygravitywithoutwings.com 