In 1862, Robert Smalls and nine other slaves who were crew members of the Confederate steamer Planter stole the ship in the middle of the night, sailing it out of Charleston Harbor and into the hands of the Union Army. In addition to the African American crew, five women and three children were also on board and smuggled to freedom. In her dramatic fictionalized account, illustrated with paintings by Curtis James, Doreen Rappaport relates these striking events from the viewpoint of one of those unknown children, whom she calls Samuel. Samuel’s first-person, present-tense narrative is full of suspense, tension, and, finally, sweet relief. An author’s note provides fascinating information on Smalls, who served in the Union Army, first as pilot and eventually as captain of the Planter during the Civil War. (Ages 7–10)

Samual and his family are born slaves. Every day they look beyond the harbor filled with Confederate ships, to the Atlantic Ocean, where the Union ships are--and potentially, their freedom. If only they could get to those ships somehow....Then, on May13, 1862, Samuel and his family risk it all to be free. /DIV DIVBased on a true story, Doreen Rappaport weaves a riveting tale of a boy and his family aboard the gunboat Planter. Captained by Robert Smalls and loaded with fellow slaves, the ship flees to the Union fleet to gain freedom from slavery and deliver much-needed ammunition to the Union Navy. Rappaport's suspenseful account, illustrated with the moody paintings of Curtis James, creates a vivid and relatable picture of this little-known tale of the civil war.