Download Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment

Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment
The Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, located across Beacon Street from the State House
in Boston, Massachusetts, serves as a reminder of the heavy cost paid by individuals and families during the Civil War. In
particular, it serves as a memorial to the group of men who were among the first African Americans to fight in that war.
Although African Americans served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, northern racist sentiments kept
African Americans from taking up arms for the United Stated in the early years of the Civil War. However, a clause in
Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation made possible the organization of African American volunteer
regiments. The first documented African American regiment formed in the north was the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer
Infantry, instituted under Governor John Andrews in 1863. African American men came to enlist from every region of the
north, and from as far away as the Caribbean. Robert Gould Shaw was the man Andrews chose to lead this regiment.
Robert G. Shaw was the only son of Francis George and Sarah Blake (née Sturgis) Shaw. The Shaws were a wealthy and
well connected New York and Boston family. They were also radical abolitionists and Unitarians.
The Massachusetts 54th Regiment became famous and solidified their place in history following the attack on Fort
Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863. At least 74 enlisted men and 3 officers were killed in that battle, and scores
more were wounded. Colonel Shaw was one of those killed. Sergeant William H. Carney, who was severely injured in the
battle, saved the regiment’s flag from being captured. He was the first African American to be awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor. The 54th Regiment also fought in an engagement on James Island, the Battle of Olustee, and at Honey
Hill, South Carolina before their return to Boston in September 1865. Only 598 of the original 1,007 men who enlisted
were there to take part in the final ceremonies on the Boston Common. In the last two years of the war, it is estimated that
over 180,000 African Americans served in the Union forces and were instrumental to the Union’s victory.
Reading Comprehension Questions
Directions: After reading the short excerpt about Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment,
answer the following questions in complete sentences on loose leaf paper.
1. What are two things that this memorial commemorates?
2. In what other wars had African Americans fought?
3. What allowed African Americans to fight for the Union?
4. Who were the first documented African Americans to fight for the Union?
5. Who led the Massachusetts 54th Regiment?
6. What three words could you use to describe Robert G. Shaw?
7. For what kind of behavior is the Massachusetts 54th Regiment most well known?
8. What is the significance of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment to the history of the Civil War?
9. Approximately how many African Americans served in the Union Army?
10. What is your opinion about Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment?