Smalls was born a slave at Beaufort, South Carolina, but managed to secure some education. Having led a sea-faring life to some extent, the early part of the war found him employed as pilot of the Rebel transport Planter. He was thoroughly familiar with the harbors and inlets of the South Atlantic coast. On May 31, 1862, the Planter was in Charleston harbor. All the white officers and crew went ashore, leaving on board a colored crew of eight men in charge of Smalls. He summoned aboard his wife and three children and at 2 o'clock in the morning steamed out of the harbor, passed the Confederate forts by giving the proper signals, and when fairly out of reach, ran up the Stars and Stripes and headed a course for the Union fleet, into whose hands he soon surrendered the ship. He was appointed a pilot in the United States navy and served as such on the monitor Keokuk in the attack on Fort Sumter; was promoted to captain for gallant and meritorious conduct, December 1, 1863, and placed in command of the Planter, a position which he held until the vessel was taken out of commission in 1866. He was a member of the South Carolina Constitutional Convention, 1868; elected same year to the legislature, to the state senate 1870 and 1872, and was a member of the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses. Among the most inspiring pages of Civil War history written by the Negro, were the campaigns of Port Hudson, Louisiana; Fort Wagner, South Carolina and Fort Pillow, Kentucky. Negro troops participated in the siege of the former place by the Federal forces under General Banks, which began in May 1863, and ended in the surrender of the fort July 8, 1863. Fort Wagner was one of the defenses of Charleston. It was reduced by General Gilmore, September 6,1863 and Negro troops contributed in a glorious and heroic manner to the result. Fort Pillow had been taken by the Federals and was garrisoned by a Negro regiment and a detachment of cavalry. It was recaptured April 12, 1864 by the Confederates under General Forrest. Practically the entire garrison was massacred, an act that will stain forever the name of Forrest, and the cause for which he struggled. By the close of the Civil war, the value and fitness of the Negro as a soldier had been so completely demonstrated that the government decided to enlarge the Regular army and form fifty percent of the increase from colored men. In 1866 eight new infantry regiments were authorized of which four were to be Negroes and four new cavalry regiments of which two were to be Negroes. The Negro infantry regiments were numbered the 38th 39th, 40th and 41st. The cavalry regiments were known as the 9th and 10th.