Today is the 161st anniversary of the assault on Fort Wagner, led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The story has been told time and time again in history books and, of course, in the 1989 movie Glory starring Matthew Broderick as Shaw.
It’s impossible to deny Shaw’s bravery as well as the Black men under his command that day. The regiment was forced to attack a highly fortified Confederate position at dusk, along a narrow strip of land bordered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and the marsh on the other. Even with the setting sun, there were few places to hide once the attack commenced.
As you all know, the attack failed. Roughly 40% of the regiment was counted as casualties, including Shaw himself, who was killed while scaling Wagner’s ramparts.
Of course, what makes the assault even more dramatic and memorable is the fact that Shaw volunteered his regiment to lead the assault. Who doesn’t love the penultimate scene in Glory when Shaw steps up to volunteer his regiment even after learning that the casualties were expected to be high.
In this scene, Shaw is presented as someone who is still trying to prove the worthiness of his regiment. After Brig. Gen. Strong notes the condition of the Fifty-fourth, Shaw responds: “There is more to fighting than rest, sir. There is character. Their strength of heart. You should have seen us in action two days ago. We were a sight to see.”
The engagement that Shaw was referring took place on James Island, two days earlier on July 16.
Many people, beginning with soldiers in the other regiments who took part in the action that day not only witnessed the Fifty-fourth in action, they acknowledged their fighting skills and bravery. Newspaper coverage guaranteed that much of the country would also learn about what the regiment had achieved that day on James Island.