Before he was a South Carolina lawmaker recognized as a champion of civil rights, Robert Smalls escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. Eventually, he would become a top Union naval officer during the Civil War. Now, Smalls is being honored with a statue on the grounds of the South Carolina State House.

South Carolina

A new statue honoring Robert Smalls, a prominent African-American Civil War hero and lawmaker, is set to be installed at the South Carolina Statehouse. Smalls, who famously escaped slavery by commandeering a Confederate ship and later became a Union naval officer and influential legislator, will be the first individual African-American commemorated on the capitol grounds.

The sculpture, created by Jamaican-born artist Basil Watson, symbolizes Smalls' journey from enslavement to statesmanship, with design elements highlighting his rise through education and public service. The project was made possible through bipartisan support from state lawmakers, aiming to provide a more complete representation of the state's history.

Black Civil War hero Robert Smalls to be honored with statue

During the Civil War, it's estimated nearly 180,000 black men fought for their freedom in Union Blue. Most escaped to the South to enlist. In tonight's In Depth, CBS' Skylar Henry reports why one man's bravery before and after emancipation will be given an historic honor in the state where the war started. Inside a small art studio not far from Atlanta, 67-year-old Basil Watson is shaping history. This is the concept for the final sculpture. The Jamaican-born artist is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship and would go on to become a top Union naval officer during the Civil War. He's heralded as a champion of civil rights and equality. It's an honor to get to put this piece on the state capitol of South Carolina. Watson's statue of Smalls will be the first monument honoring an individual African-American on the statehouse's grounds. Currently, the statues surrounding the state capitol are all of white men, many with ties to the Civil War or of the Jim Crow era South. A bipartisan push from state lawmakers made Smalls' statue a reality. Historian John McCardell. It helps to complete the incomplete and unfinished story. We're talking about a man who has met with President Lincoln. That's right. As far as his story goes, what stands out to you? Here's someone whose intelligence was recognized almost literally from birth, and he was bold and courageous on that night in May of 1862 when he brought his family and others on board and almost miraculously delivered that ship to the Union blockade offshore. The final piece of sculpture, the figure actually, will be about 12 feet tall. Watson's plan for Smalls' statue depicts the icon's journey from illiteracy to a pioneering statesman, using a stack of books as a platform symbolizing Smalls' elevation. I will fade into the background, but what I want them to remember is Robert Smalls, what he did, and to understand where African-Americans are coming from, the history of the United States. A journey cemented or bronzed in history. Skyler Henry, CBS News, Atlanta.

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