History's Heroes - History's Toughest Heroes: Robert Smalls: Last Chance for Freedom
Download History's Toughest Heroes: Robert Smalls: Last Chance for Freedom
For an enslaved man like Robert Smalls during the American Civil War, there was only way out of Charleston: through the harbour and past hostile Confederate forts. He just needed a ship...
In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.
Robert Smalls was born a slave in the American South. His one chance at escape and freedom hung on a key act of bravery on a single night. He’d have to sail right under the noses and massive cannons of the Confederate ships and forts . If he hoped to survive with his fellow fleeing slaves, he’d have to be bold, be a great actor, don a cunning disguise and have nerves of steel to pull it off.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Producer: Michael LaPointe
Development Producer: Georgina Leslie
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Imogen Robertson
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
Published on Tuesday, 28th October 2025.
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