Bar story: Tonight, in 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment led Union forces across the narrow beaches of Morris Island in the main assault on Fort Wagner; the key defensive position protecting the harbor of Confederate-held Charleston, SC.
The 54th Massachusetts - renowned as the first regiment comprised of African-American enlisted soldiers - was formed by Governor John Andrew following the Emancipation Proclamation. Recruitment was assisted by famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass (two volunteers being his sons) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (who also frequently attended their training in Boston).
Selected to command the unit was Robert Gould Shaw; the son of prominent Boston abolitionists, a veteran of many battles with the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry (including Antietam), and the recipient of 2 Purple Hearts. He accepted the assignment, was promoted to Colonel, then made for Boston to begin organizing and training the new regiment.
Although the Confederacy had recently issued a proclamation stating they would execute any captured African-American soldier - or white officer leading them - far more men came forward to volunteer than required. So many in fact, that the 55th Massachusetts was formed with the surplus. After months of training and with a building hunger to prove themselves in battle against the Confederacy, the 54th Massachusetts - 1,007 enlisted African-Americans and 37 white officers - gathered on the Boston Commons and, with great fanfare & celebration throughout the city, began their March south to join the fight.
Before departing, Shaw wrote to his father, “There is not the least doubt that we will leave the State with as good a regiment as any that has marched."
Upon arrival in South Carolina, Colonel Shaw was disappointed to find his regiment was not slated to join combat units at the front due to questions regarding their readiness & ability. After lobbying his commanders, the 54th was attached to General Quincy Gillmore’s division to assist in occupying James Island - located immediately south of Charleston - on July 8th as part of a larger campaign to take the city. It was here where Shaw’s men saw their first action: Confederate units moved to retake the island, but were successfully repelled by the 54th during the Battle of Grimball’s Landing on July 16th. Although not a major engagement, the men of the 54th had proven themselves in combat, earning a reputation for their effectiveness and composure.
The next day, Union Generals began planning their assault on the Confederate’s main defensive position protecting Charleston Harbor: Fort Wagner.
Fort Wagner was well protected, not just by its man-made defenses, but also by it's surrounding geography. With the Atlantic to the east, harbor to the north, and thick marshland to the west & south, the only ground approach was a narrow strip of sandy beach barely 60-yards wide; enough space to move only one unit at a time. Soldiers advancing on its walls would need to move quickly over a 1000 yards through this narrow stretch while under concentrated artillery and rifle fire.
Colonel Shaw - fresh off his first victory as commander of the 54th - requested his regiment lead the assault. General Gillmore granted his request.
In preparation, Union artillery and naval guns bombarded the fort throughout the day on the 18th of July. At dusk, the barrage ceased, and the 54th Massachusetts began their march forward, Colonel Shaw at the front.
----------
One soldier within the ranks of the 54th that night was a young man named William Harvey Carney.
Born a slave in Virginia in 1840, Carney escaped north to Massachusetts via the Underground Railroad, settling in New Bedford. Upon hearing of the formation of the 54th, he traveled to Boston to volunteer, not wanting to miss the opportunity to return south to fight. During training, Carney quickly emerged as a disciplined soldier and capable leader among his fellow volunteers and thus, was promoted to Sergeant in C Company.
Now standing on the beaches of Morris Island, with Fort Wagner ahead of him, Carney and his fellow soldiers set off and advanced quickly as the sun began to set. Almost immediately, the regiment began to take indirect fires from artillery, and endured continued fire throughout their approach. Although Carney would be hit during advance, and as many others around him fell, he continued forward towards Fort Wagner directly behind Colonel Shaw. The men cleared the narrow beach and neared the fort’s walls when the color guard (the soldier carrying the US flag into battle) took a fatal shot. Carney - charging beside him - quickly grabbed the flag and continued onward towards the wall.
Those of the 54th who made it to the fort began to advance up its sandy walls as reinforcing regiments attempted to make their way across the beach behind them. Shaw and Carney were among the first to make it to the top; Carney planted & waved the flag from atop Wagner’s walls to rally the charging men as Colonel Shaw and the rest of the 54th poured over the walls around him and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Yet, they would be the only Union men to enter the fort that night.
Regiments outside were unable to make it over the walls, and the 54th - now on their own - was eventually overwhelmed & pushed back. Colonel Shaw would fall fighting at close quarters atop the parapet; he was 25 years old, and buried in an unmarked mass grave in the sands outside the fort. Carney, severely wounded, ended up at the base of the walls. With his last ounce of strength he struggled to make it back across the beach to his lines, still maintaining a tight grip on the flag until he was finally carried from the field.
A writer from the United States Service Magazine, who witnessed the battle first hand, captured this moment: “As our forces retire, Sergeant Carney, who has kept the colors of his regiment flying upon the parapet of Wagner during the entire conflict, is seen creeping along on one knee, still holding up the flag, and only yielding its sacred trust upon finding an officer of his regiment. As he entered the field-hospital, where his wounded comrades are being brought in, they cheer him and the colors. Though nearly exhausted with the loss of blood, he says, ‘Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground.’”
For his actions and bravery under fire that day, William H. Carney would be awarded the Medal of Honor; the first African-American to do so. The official citation accompanying the award states:
“When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.”
After nearly a year of recovery, Carney would be honorably discharged from service. He returned to New Bedford where he first took a job maintaining the city’s street lights, then made a career in the mail service. After retiring from 37 years with the postal service, he served in the Massachusetts Department of State office at the State House. William Carney died in December of 1908 at age 68, buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford; an image of the Medal of Honor engraved on his headstone.
The performance of Sergeant Carney and the 54th Massachusetts at the Battle of Fort Wagner ended any debate about African-American’s ability to serve alongside their fellow countrymen. The 54th continued fighting throughout the South - as did the many other integrated units which followed - until the war’s end in 1865.
Closing note: Carrying a flag into battle may seem like an unnecessary accessory when we think of warfare today, but they serve as both a coordination tool & motivational symbol; both are key in combat. Regiments during the Civil War would protect their colors at all costs, and use them to rally their fellow soldiers to stay in the fight. In fact, every soldier today carries the flag into combat: while some may think our flag patches are backwards, they aren’t; they’re designed to face the direction a flag would be flowing if they were carried unfurled into battle.
Images:
1) “The Storming of Fort Wagner” by Kurz & Allison, Colonel Shaw & Sergeant Carney portrayed at center.
2) Colonel Robert Gould Shaw shortly after accepting command of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1863.
3) Sergeant William Carney with the flag, 1864. Note the cane he needs to use to stand for the photo due to his wounds from Fort Wagner.
4) William Carney in 1901, wearing his Medal of Honor.
5) Modern US Army Soldier “carrying” his flag.
