I did not realize that when the iconic Massachusetts 54th USCT led their famous charge against Fort Wagner, Charleston, Harbor, South Carolina, in July 1863, that these 600 black men had not eaten for 2 days, nor had slept for 3 days, before launching their historic attack against 1700 men who were protected by a strong earthworks fort. Col. Robert Gould Shaw, of Massachusetts, scion of a family of abolitionists, the young regimental commander of the 54th, died in the parlous attempt to take the heavily fortified site on July 18, 1863.
The facts that are set forth above were read in WORTH FIGHTING FOR by Agnes McCarthy and Lawrence Reddick (1965), who also wrote:
"Finally only a ditch separated the 54th from the enemy. Sergeant William H. Carney, a Negro of Company C, was the standard bearer. He carried the nation's flag up the ditch and planted it on the parapet of the fort. He had been wounded twice in the fierce battle, but as he said later , 'The old flag never touched the ground!'
"Colonel Shaw was always in front of his men. He got to the rampart, and stood there, with sword uplifted . His men heard him shout, 'Forward, Fifty-Fourth!' Then he fell dead , shot through the heart....
"Those who got into the fort were too few to hold it. Wagner was stronger and better defended than the Union had guessed. The 54th was pushed back, wounded and dying, into the night. They continued to fight. But the charge had been made and defeated before any other Union troops arrived. When supporting troops did come, they too were pushed back with heavy losses . The Confederate loss was 181 men killed or wounded. The Union's loss was 1515, including 111 officers.
"Wagner was one of the fiercest struggles of the war. The bravery of the 54th Massachusetts was noted by Union and Confederate writers alike....
"By burying Shaw with Negroes, the Confederates meant to insult him and his family. But Shaw's father took it as an honor. The following month, when Union troops finally occupied Wagner, the soldiers began a search for Shaw's grave. They hoped they could send his body back to New York for burial. When he heard of the search, Shaw's father wrote a letter to the commanding officer and asked him not to disturb the grave. Said Mr. Shaw, 'A soldier's most appropriate burial-place is on the field where he has fallen...I shall therefore be much obliged if you will prevent the disturbance of his remains or those buried with him.'"
P.48-53.
