Story of America Cards

Robert Gould Shaw

He was not an abolitionist by choice, he was part of a wealthy prominent bostonian family, this gave him an opportunity to take part in an experiment. This experiment was to lead the first black troops; free african americans in the American Civil War as the first organized and trained troop; we are talking about the leader who was a white man that I have been mentioning out, he is the leader Massachusetts 54th Regiment; Robert Grould Shaw and this is his history in Story of America Cards The Civil war category.

(Who is Robert Grould Shaw?)

Robert Grould Shaw was an American officer of the Union Army during the American Civil War as part of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment in the northeast, where he was a volunteer, The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an all African-American regiment, he Supported the promised equal treatment for his troops and he encouraged the men to refuse their pay until it was equal to that of white troops' wage.

(White Leader of Black Troops)

The Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Regiment was the first black regiment raised and trained to fight in the Civil War. The leader of the regiment was a 25-year old descendent of a wealthy Massachusetts family, named Robert Gould Shaw.

Born in Boston on October 10th 1837, Shaw attended the best schools in the United States and Europe. He dropped out of Harvard University in 1859 and entered business in New York, where his family was then living.

When the Civil War began he enlisted as a private in the Union Army's 7th New York Regiment and was quickly promoted to second lieutenant of the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment.

Shaw took part in the Union's important victories at Winchester, Cedar Mountain and Antietam, after which President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This edict among other things, enabled black fighting forces for the Union to proceed.

Governor John Albion Andrew of Massachusetts, who was authorized to raise such a force, turned to Shaw, the son of abolitionist parents, to head the regiment. Shaw accepted his appointment as colonel of the 54th Regiment in early 1863.

On May 28th 1863, Shaw's regiment, consisting of about 1,000 free black volunteers from all over the United States and Canada, left Bostan following an intensive training program.

Their first engagement was a skirmish on James Island near Charleston, South Carolina, on July 16th, in which they acquitted themselves well. Then, two days later, Shaw and his men lead an assault on Fort Wagner, located on an island in Charleston harbor. It was a difficult assignment, but the men of the 54th attacked vigorously.

Then some of the men reached the Confederate line, Shaw stood up to rally his men and, as he did so a bullet struck him in the heart, his men tried desperately to push through the Confederate line, but even with reinforcements of experienced white veterans, the attack failed.

The bravery shown by the men of the 54th was, however, an enormous victory in itself, for they had proved that blacks and whites could fight side by side effectively. The Confederates buried Shaw in a trench with his men---an unusual treatment for the body of an officer. Shaw's family decided it was a fitting burial and made no effort to recover his body.

A statue of Shaw created by Augustus St. Gaudens was erected in Boston, and poems celebrating this leader in the struggle for black equality were written by James Russell Lowell and years later Robert Lowell.

(Robert Gould Shaw's Legacy)

Now his body was reburied at the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina which was after the war, But Robert Gould Shaw although he didn't live long left a big legacy, his leadership and the regiment became legendary which inspired a 1989 although dramatized oscar winning film about the regiment called Glory. I'd say a must watch to get more of the feel of Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment.

Also something else that's interesting; his sword had gotten stolen from his first gravesite but was recovered back in 1865 and returned to his family where they had kept it and passed down but soon disappeared until 2017 it was found in the family attic (You don't know a lot of cool stuff can be hiding in the family attic) from the descents of Robert Gould Shaw's sister; they then had donated the sword to Massachusetts Historical Society where it was put on display for the public on July 18th the same year at the anniversary of Shaw's death.

(Ending)

And that's the history of Robert Gould Shaw. I hope you enjoyed it and learned a lot of very interesting things about him, and I'll see you next time in my other videos.