Hon. Robert Smalls - Civil War hero, statesman

A large portrait of Robert Smalls is surrounded by drawings of a ship leaving a harbour, a flag-raising at a naval camp and a speaker at a lectern, each with a caption. The tell is transfer: Civil War service and congressional office are used as exemplars for wartime Black participation.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

TestimonialTransfer

Date

1943

Period

Second World War

Made by

Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Alston)

Region

North America

Country

United States

Medium

Cartoon

Issuer type

State

Regime

Roosevelt Administration

Leader

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Persuade or win support

Themes

War and the military, Race and ethnicity, Elections and party politics

Event

World War II

Regime

Roosevelt administration

Leader

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 208, Artworks and Mockups for Cartoons Promoting the War Effort (NAID 535594), retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-234 (NAID 535697).

Hon.
ROBERT
SMALLS
CIVIL WAR HERO,
STATESMAN

A PILOT ON THE CONFEDERATE TRANSPORT
"PLANTER", HE RAN THE SHIP
OUT OF CHARLESTON HARBOR
ON MAY 13th, 1862, AND
DELIVERED HER TO THE
UNION SQUADRON.
FOR THIS GALLANT
ACTION, HE WAS
APPOINTED A PILOT
IN THE NAVY,
AND GIVEN
COMMAND OF THE
"PLANTER".

SERVED FIVE TERMS
AS A MEMBER OF
THE CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES.

CAMP ROBERT SMALLS,
U.S. NAVAL TRAINING
STATION, NAMED IN HONOR OF
THIS UNIQUE FIGURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

Alston
for OWI