Be Free or Die ─ The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero

Robert Smalls was more than just a house slave. Born in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, he was known as one of the best boat pilots in the Charleston Harbor, engaging in 17 battles and combat missions during the Civil War. The astonishing story that brought him from the plantation house to the White House, convincing Abraham Lincoln to allow black men to enlist in the Union Army just months before the Emancipation Proclamation, makes Smalls one of the first heroes of the Civil War. It all began when he launched one of the most daring escapes in American history, commandeering the Planter, a heavily armed Confederate steamer, through five Confederate checkpoints to safety at the U.S. Blockade, making him a free man and a hero in the eyes of the Union.

In Be Free or Die, Cate Lineberry tells the remarkable story of Smalls’ escape and his many accomplishments as a Union hero; he not only became a successful humanitarian, founder of a newspaper, and advocate for public education, but he also was one of the first African-Americans to serve in Congress. Be Free or Die is a compelling narrative that gives unique insight and knowledge into the stark contrast between the North and South during the war and the rise and fall of Confederate Charleston, the largest slave port in the country and the city where the succession began.