Some of you may have seen the mo

Some of you may have seen the move "Glory", starring Denzel Washington, and
Morgan Freeman, among others, but I wonder if you know that it was a true
story? For those not familiar, it was an account of a black regiment of
soldiers formed in Boston, called the 54th Regiment, who fought courageously
in the Civil War, against relentless odds, not the least of which was from
their own fellow white Northerners, who treated them horrendously, despite
the fact that they were supposedly, fighting the same enemy.
Here is a little bit about them:

Congressional Medal of Honor
Colored Troops, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
Led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the Fifty-fourth was made up of free
Blacks including the sons of Frederick Douglass, who were instrumental in
the formation of the unit.

On July 18, 1863, the regiment won undying glory by leading the bloody
assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. In the attack nearly
half the regiment was killed, wounded or captured. Colonel Shaw was among
those who died. For his bravery in the battle, Sergeant William H. Carney
became the first African American to earn the Medal of Honor, the nation's
highest military award. The survivors of the Fifty-fourth went on to
participate in the eventual capture of Fort Wagner several weeks later.

The Fifty-fourth continued to serve throughout the remainder of the war.
They fought at Olustee, Florida; Honey Hill, South Carolina; and finally at
Boykin's Mills, South Carolina.

The example of steadfast courage and heroism set by the Fifty-fourth
Massachusetts paved the way for the enlistment of over 200,000 African
Americans in the Union Army and Navy.

Robert Gould Shaw was a young Bostonian with impeccable family connections
strongly abolitionist parents, and battle experience. Born 10 October 1837,
he was the only son of Francis Gould and Sarah Sturgis Shaw. Socially
conscious and deeply devoted to intellectual and spiritual pursuits, the
Shaw's counted among their friends and associates such thinkers, writers, and
reformers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Lloyd
Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, May 1863, photograph, Boston Athenaeum

The Fifty-fourth did well and nobly. . . . They moved up as gallantly as any
troops could, and with their enthusiasm they deserved a better fate."

--Edward L. Pierce, correspondent for the New York Tribune,

to Governor John A. Andrew, July 22, 1863
In the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, President
Lincoln announced that black men would be accepted into the U.S. Army and
Navy. Of the estimated 2 million people who fought on the Union side, some
180,000 black soldiers and sailors fought for the Union and for freedom
during the Civil War.

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was one of the most celebrated
regiments of black soldiers that fought in the Civil War. Known simply as
"the 54th," this regiment became famous after the heroic, but ill-fated,
assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Leading the direct assault under
heavy fire, the 54th suffered enormous casualties before being forced to
withdraw. The courage and sacrifice of the 54th helped to dispel doubt
within the Union Army about the fighting ability of black soldiers and
earned this regiment undying battlefield glory. The 1989 film Glory tells
the story of the 54th.

For the entire story, and a view of an historical document showing the
casualty list, click here:

Congressional Medal of Honor Colored Troops, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, African American Civil War Soldiers

Deloris

This page was last updated on 07/16/06