How was Robert Smalls, a black man born into slavery in South Carolina, able to convince Abraham Lincoln to allow freed black men to join the Union army?
A) He wrote Abraham Lincoln a letter, asking if he could join the army.
B) He jumped on the Underground Railroad and rode the train into Northern territory.
C) He followed Sojourner Truth North and declared himself free when he reached Canada.
D) He freed himself and stole a Confederate ship, sailing himself and others North, into free territory.

The correct option is D) He freed himself and stole a Confederate ship, sailing himself and others North, into free territory.

Explanation:

With the outbreak of the civil war, both the confederates and the Union were trying to muster all man power and resources they could get their hands on.

At the time, Robert Smalls was assigned by the Confederate commander Roswell to steer the CSS Planter, a medium sized transport steam ship.

Robert, along with a group of other black slaves was responsible for maintaining and steering the ship. Eventually, he came up with a plan to steer the ship into Union territory and defect there as a free slaved.

Eventually, he was able to steer the ship without incident and brought along with him a Confederate ship and his friends.

He was quickly noted for his bravery and intelligence, and even Abraham Lincoln noticed this eventually given a prize money for the ship amounting to $1,500 at the time and was commissioned in the US army.