Thursday, January 26

Undying glory


 Mine eyes have seen the Glory...

Have you seen the 1989 moving picture Glory? It tells the (fictionalized) story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (MVI). 

On Jan. 26, 1863 Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrew received permission from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to form the 54th MVI, composed of blacks from Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and others. 

After a slow start he got so many volunteers that they quickly formed the 55th MVI, too.

The regiment was one of the first official black units in the United States during the Civil War. Although many
had fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of recruited freed slaves was the first Union Army regiment organized with African American soldiers in the Civil War.

The 54th MVI gained recognition on July 18, 1863, when it spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, S.C. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was killed there, along with 29 of his men (another 24 died later of their wounds), 15 were captured, 52 went missing in action, and 149 were wounded. The total regimental casualties of 272 would be the highest total for the 54th in a single engagement during the Civil War. 



1 comment:

  1. I watched that when I was little, very sad story when the battle happens.

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