Frederick Douglass' quote, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress," resonates now even more with the finding of a slave escape ship in South Carolina.

It was revealed on May 13 that archaeologists, along with members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary, discovered what is believed to be the "CSS Planter," a ship used by Robert Smalls to escape slavery in 1862.

Sonar was used to locate the "Planter" wreckage offshore at Cape Romain, northeast of Charleston, covered beneath 15 feet of sand and water. The "Planter" was long thought to be lost forever because it was believed to have sunk in 1876.

On May 12, 1862, former slave and deckhand on the "Planter" Robert Smalls commandeered the ship when the captain and the crew went out to celebrate. The ship was alone and for the taking; Smalls sailed at about four in the morning. Smalls also picked up his family, and other slaves along the way, the Grio reported. Smalls reportedly steamed upriver then turned around and slipped past five Southern batteries on the Charleston Harbor to reach the Union blockade ships.

Smalls later served and fought in the Civil War as a free man.

In the 1850s, Smalls became a river pilot in Charleston. He was later conscripted by the Confederates to serve as a pilot on the "Planter," Fox News reported.

Smalls has been regarded as a hero. He later went on to have an esteemed career in the Union navy as a free man, and he later served five terms as a congressman for South Carolina, the Huffington Post reported.

Senior archaeologist and maritime historian with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Bruce Terrell stated that scientists used old maps and newspaper accounts to determine and identify the general area of where the "Planter" was; it was thought to have sunk in a storm in 1876. This was eleven years after the war ended. The report from NOAA and its groups indicated that they need to conduct more studies before the wreck is positively identified as the slave escape ship.

The full excavation of the Planter is perhaps difficult for two reasons: firstly, it will be very expensive; and secondly, the excavation could disturb sensitive loggerhead sea turtle nesting grounds in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.

May 13 marks the 152nd anniversary of the voyage of the "Planter." A plaque identifying "the last resting place of Robert Smalls' Planter" was dedicated at the refuge's education center on Tuesday.