Medium: Brushed Acrylic on 16x20 Stretched Canvas
In 1862 the Union Militia Act, in conjunction with the Emancipation Proclamation, allowed freed African-Americans to enlist into the Union Army. However, under the bigotted premise that black men were like children and were mentally incapable of learning battlefield tactics; the first African-American troopers were restricted to military duties concerning manual labor and kitchen details.
Furthermore, African-American statesmen, such as Frederick Douglass and many Northern white abolitionists equated that any
black man that fought for his country should also earn the right to
vote. Unable to accept any notion that would allow a black man the right to vote many Union military leaders refused to assign African-American units the opportunity to participate in the actual fighting.
Finally , due to the war dragging on, the Union Army began to suffer innumerable casualties. There became a critical need for manpower on the battlefield. On July 18, 1863, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the son of a Northern abolitionist the, all black, 54th Massachusetts Regiment was given the go ahead to place a frontal assault on the Confederate stronghold of Fort Wagner, which was the first defense guarding Charleston, South Carolina. The men of the 54th put up a fierce battle. A few successfully penetrated through Confederate defenses and briefly held a portion of the fort . Eventually, being grossly outnumbered, the Confederate forces overran them. Sadly, more than 50% of the, all black, regiment was killed, including their white leader Colonel Shaw.
The charge on Fort Wagner by the, all black, 54th Massachusetts Regiment proved that African-American soldiers could and would fight in battle and perform just as capably and just as valiantly as their white counterparts.
vote. Unable to accept any notion that would allow a black man the right to vote many Union military leaders refused to assign African-American units the opportunity to participate in the actual fighting.
Finally , due to the war dragging on, the Union Army began to suffer innumerable casualties. There became a critical need for manpower on the battlefield. On July 18, 1863, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the son of a Northern abolitionist the, all black, 54th Massachusetts Regiment was given the go ahead to place a frontal assault on the Confederate stronghold of Fort Wagner, which was the first defense guarding Charleston, South Carolina. The men of the 54th put up a fierce battle. A few successfully penetrated through Confederate defenses and briefly held a portion of the fort . Eventually, being grossly outnumbered, the Confederate forces overran them. Sadly, more than 50% of the, all black, regiment was killed, including their white leader Colonel Shaw.
The charge on Fort Wagner by the, all black, 54th Massachusetts Regiment proved that African-American soldiers could and would fight in battle and perform just as capably and just as valiantly as their white counterparts.
Written by Carl G. Brown
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