A sunken ship has been discovered off the coast of South Carolina that experts believe is the Planter, a Civil War-Era Confederate ship that was commandeered by slaves and turned over to the Union army 152 years ago. Marine archaeologists started looking for the remains of the sunken ship in 2010, when a historical document surfaced that detailed how the Planter sank in 1876.

Buried iron objects indicating a sunken ship have been discovered off the coast of South Carolina that experts believe is the Planter, a Civil War-Era Confederate ship that was commandeered by slaves and turned over to the Union army 152 years ago.

Marine archaeologists started looking for the remains of the sunken ship in 2010, after reviewing historical documents that detailed how the Planter sank in 1876.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, evidence of the shipwreck was found near Cape Romain buried under 10 to 15 feet of sand.

Archaeologists from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced their discovery on the anniversary of when slaves took the Planter to freedom, but there still has to be further investigations to confirm that that remains are from the historic ship.

In 1862, Robert Smalls sailed his family to safety by disguising himself as the captain of the Planter to make it past the Confederate sentries stationed at Charleston Harbor.

After fighting in the Civil War, and piloting a Union ironclad warship in an attack on Fort Sumter, Smalls went on to serve on the South Carolina general assembly, then as a United States congressman for South Carolina and a federal customs inspector.