**Oral Tradition**
As a little African American girl, I grew up hearing stories about Big Bob, a formerly enslaved man who had sought freedom by joining the U.S. Army and served on a Union vessel off Rodman’s Point near Washington, North Carolina. On March 31, 1863, during the Siege of Washington, Capt. Charles Lyons’ flatboat got stuck on a sandbar while under enemy fire, and Big Bob sacrificed himself to save the ship and everyone else aboard. He pushed the boat off the sandbar, reportedly declaring, “Somebody’s got to die to get us out of this, it might as well be me.” Exposed to enemy fire, he was shot five times and killed. With the flatboat off the sandbar, Capt. Lyons and his men made it safely back to shore. Big Bob never received recognition for this heroic act, but his story encourages me to do great things and stand up for the right thing even though it might cost me. There were other heroic deeds that men called “contraband” did while they were Union Army, and they deserve to have their stories told. They were vital to the Civil war efforts here in Beaufort County and beyond.