Abram Petrovich Hannibal (1697-1781)
ABRAM PETROVICH HANNIBAL (1697-1781) WAS A RUSSIAN SOLDIER AND GENERAL.
Abram Hannibal was born in Lagano, Ethiopia in 1697, the son of the reigning prince. At the age of eight he was captured and taken to Turkey, where he was once again kidnapped and taken to Moscow. He was given to the Czar, Peter the Great. Peter grew fond of him because of his intelligence. For ten years Hannibal went everywhere with Peter.
Hannibal completed his early schooling in 1716. He had a natural gift for mathematics and engineering. With his skill he helped to construct the naval port and fortress town of Kronstadt, which played an important role in the history of Russia. The Czar sent Abram to Paris to study engineering.
He stayed in France for six years. During that time he joined the French Army as a "commander," taking part in the Spanish war of the Czar’s Guard as an Engineer Lieutenant.
Peter died in 1725 and immediately Hannibal was banished to Siberia. There he built the fortress of Selenchinsk. He escaped from Siberia but was recaptured and returned to exile. In 1741 a new ruler came to power and Hannibal was restored to honor in the army. He quickly rose to the rank of General.
Hannibal's skill and intelligence added many contributions to Russia. He was commissioned to fix the boundary line between Russia and Sweden, and he was also appointed a member of the inspection staff of the forts of Russia. But his greatest achievement was his appointment as Commandant of the city of Reval, and as a Major in the Tomesk garrison.
Abram Hannibal was also the great-grandfather of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet.
ROBERT SMALLS was born a slave in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, a town by the sea. When the civil War broke out Smalls was twenty-three years old. His master allowed him to work as a stevedore on the Confederate ship The Planter, which was one of the Confederate navy's fastest and most valuable ships.
Smalls noticed that the officers, all of whom were White, would often spend the night ashore. He devised a plan that he shared with other crewmen: On an evening when the crew was left alone on the ship, they would lift anchor, sail for Charleston Harbor, and turn the vessel over to the Union navy.
May 13, 1862 was the day they chose to carry out the plan. Smalls smuggled his family on board and The Planter sailed to freedom.
Smalls received high praise and a large reward for his deed. The following year he was made captain of The Planter and placed in command for the rest of the war. After the war, he served in the south Carolina legislature and became a major general in the state militia. From 1876 to 1886 he served three terms in the United states House of Representatives. White Southern racists managed to have him jailed for "corruption," but his supporters reelected to the house. Smalls helped create the marine base art Parris Island, where thousands of Americans who served in the armed forces were trained.
Smalls died in 1916 at the age of seventy-six.
