HISTORICAL NOVEL At four years of age, Elizabeth Smalls found herself on a Confederate gunboat, churning through the dark waters in search of freedom. Her father, Robert Smalls, committed one of the most daring and dangerous exploits of the Civil War. Robert was a slave who was driven to break the chains of bondage for his family. By commandeering a steamship from the Confederate navy, and delivering it to the Union, he freed himself, his family and his crew from the yoke of slavery. Overnight, he was catapulted into national fame. His daughter, Elizabeth, became a leading advocate in the black community for freedom through education. When her father was elected U.S. Congressman from South Carolina, she worked as his secretary in Washington D.C. Elizabeth and Robert befriended Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass, and joined forces with them in their quest for black equality. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Elizabeth post-mistress of Beaufort, S.C., a title she held for eight years. During her lifetime, Elizabeth and her husband, Samuel Bampfield, raised nine children to adulthood. All received excellent educations and enjoyed successful careers.