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New Vessel Brings the Name Robert Smalls to the Sea Once Again
Beaufort Gazette, SC - September 21, 2007
Since Robert Smalls found his freedom at sea, it seems fitting that
his legacy will be preserved there. The USAV Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls,
a 314-foot long, 5,412-ton transport vessel, was inducted into the
Army's fleet Saturday during a ceremony in downtown Baltimore. Smalls,
a Civil War hero from Beaufort, is also the first black person to
have an Army ship named after him.
Army Commissions Vessel Named after African-American Civil War Hero,
S.C. Statesman
Army News Release - September 15, 2007 - See Photos
from the ceremony
Years of dedication, determination, love and respect culminated
recently in the commissioning of the Army Reserve’s first
vessel named after an African-American: U.S. Army Vessel Maj. Gen.
Robert Smalls (Logistics Support Vessel-8). The logistics support
vessel, which was christened in April 2004, is the Army’s
most recent acquisition and the largest vessel currently in the
Army’s floating inventory. It’s operated by the Army
Reserve’s Baltimore based 203rd Transportation Detachment,
which has the Army’s only crew licensed to operate the vessel.
Army Commissions First Vessel
in Honor of African-American
On September 15, 2007, The U.S. Army Reserve will conduct an
unusual ceremony in Baltimore's Inner Harbor - a ship commissioning.
Who knew the Army and its Reserve component had ships? Not many,
but it does, in a waterborne force informally known as the "Army's
Navy." Perhaps what's even more unique about this commissioning
ceremony it that Logistics Support Vessel-8 (LSV-8) USAV MG Robert
Smalls (United States Army Vessel Major General Robert Smalls) is
the Army's first vessel to be named for an African-American citizen.
Robert Smalls' Exhibit Premieres in
Baltimore September 15
Robert Smalls: Slave, Soldier, Statesman, presented by the Weider
History Group, Inc., makes its debut September 15th aboard the largest
Army vessel, the Major General Robert Smalls (LSV-8), during the
ship’s commissioning ceremony in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The MG Robert Smalls, a Logistics Support Vessel, is the first Army
ship to bear the name of an African American and the first named
for a Civil War hero. The exhibit will be open to the public at
the Top of the World Gallery in Baltimore’s World Trade Center
from September 16 – December 15, 2007.
Photos
of MG Robert Smalls Launch
Watch the Major General Robert Smalls (LSV-8) take off for the first
time!
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