2 senators call for monument honoring black Civil War hero
Posted September 20, 2017 7:00 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A call to honor a black Civil War hero with a monument at the South Carolina Statehouse grounds, the 2015 epicenter of a national move to strip away Confederate symbols, is being made by two lawmakers in a bid to encourage consensus building in a nation divided by the issue.
Two state senators - one a black Democrat and the other a white Republican - called Wednesday for a statue of Robert Smalls, who in 1862 hijacked a Confederate supply ship, steered his family to freedom and turned the boat over to the Union.
After the war, Smalls helped found South Carolina's Republican Party and became a state legislator and congressman.
Michael B. Moore talks to reporters Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., about a proposal to honor his great-great grandfather Robert Smalls with a monument on grounds outside. Two South Carolina senators called Wednesday for a statue of Robert Smalls, who in 1862 hijacked a Confederate supply ship, steered his family to freedom and turned the boat over to the Union. (AP Photo/Seanna Adcox)
The Associated Press
A statue of Benjamin Ryan Tillman is seen on the grounds of the state capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, at in Columbia, S.C. One Statehouse monument some have called for removing or changing is a statue of Tillman, governor from 1890 to 1894 and then a U.S. senator. Two South Carolina senators called Wednesday for a statue of Robert Smalls, who in 1862 hijacked a Confederate supply ship, steered his family to freedom and turned the boat over to the Union. (AP Photo/Seanna Adcox)
The Associated Press
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