I do have to disagree with one point. Sadly, I doubt most of the country would recognize who Robert Smalls is. (and yes, he very much deserves a ship named after him).
I am sadly certain, at this point, if you had a ship named the USS Smalls, 40% of the country would think Biggie, 40% would think The Sandlot, 15% would think it is a penis joke, and only 5% would know who it is really about.