After his exploit, Smalls went to Philadelphia, hired tutors to teach him to read and write, and joined the Union navy. Before the Civil War was over, he fought in 17 sea battles, piloted a Union ironclad warship, and was named captain of the Planter.
Smalls lobbied President Abraham Lincoln to allow African-Americans to fight for the Union. After the war, he bought his former owner's house in Beaufort and served as a state lawmaker and one of a handful of black delegates to the state's constitutional conventions.
He was elected to Congress five times from South Carolina and wrote the legislation that created the Parris Island Marine base near Beaufort. In 1900, he was awarded $5,000 by Congress for the capture of the Planter. Smalls died in 1915 at age 75.
