Civil War: Col. Robert Gould Shaw Born
October 10, 1837 - Robert Gould Shaw (left) is born in Boston, MA to wealthly abolitionists Francis and Sarah Shaw. With the Civil War looming, Shaw joined the 7th New York State Militia hoping to see action. He briefly served with the regiment, before applying for a commission in the 2nd Massachusetts. Appointed a second lieutenant, Shaw saw service in the Shenandoah Valley and at the Battle of Antietam. In February 1863, Shaw was offered command of the first black regiment raised in the north, the 54th Massachusetts, by Governor John A. Andrew. Reluctantly accepting, Shaw oversaw the recruiting and training of the regiment and was impressed by the dedication of his men. Sailing south in May 1863, the regiment took part in the infamous Darien, GA raid and was mainly used for manual labor. Eager to have his men prove themselves, Shaw advocated for the regiment's use in combat. Finally on July 16, the 54th met the enemy on James Island, SC. Two days later the regiment led the doomed assault on Fort Wagner which claimed the life of Shaw and many of his men.
Photograph Courtesy of the US Army
Comments
The 54th only had 30 men killed in action and buried at wagner among those 10 percent were officers; Col. Shaw, Capt. Russel, and Capt. Simpkins. They suffered an additional 24 who later died of wounds, 11 who died of captivity, and 52 who were missing and never accounted for; as well as 149 wounded and 15 captured. Of 281 casualties 3 officers were killed, 11 wounded along with one staff NCO Sgt. Major Lewis Douglas, son of Fredrick Douglas. Shaw was buried in front of the south curtain of Fort Wagner with 20 of his men, (Hagood, “Memoirs of the War of Secession”). The soldiers of the 54th were among the first to be buried and as such were buried before any request was ever made for Col. Shaw’s body. Later in the day the bodies of Col. Putnam and Maj. Green were returned as they had not been buried yet. Gen Hagood disputes having ever said he buried Shaw with his men becuase they were black but that he buried Shaw with black soldiers because they were who he was leading and surrounded his body when he was buried. The Union soldiers he goes on to say were buried according to how they lay or in by unit if identification could be made. Correspondence from Gen. Beauregard stat that Hagood was to bury the bodies with all haste and to return the bodies if so ask under a white flag through lines but under no circumstances to allow Federal soldeirs anywhere near Wagner whre they could accertain the damage. Since Shaw was among the first to be buried there was never any chance for his body to be recovered under those terms nor is it unusual for Civil War officers to be buried with their men. Look at the Battle of Franklin, as well as Antietam and Gettysburg. In truth the Federal soldiers treated Confederate dead much worse, even among the officer corps, most of the time they were just left on the field and never buried by Union Forces. As to the condition of the site of Morris Island today most of the Southern portion of the island has eroded but many scholars and archaeologist belive that a good bit of the western wall of wagner still exists on Morris Island over grown by dense tree and shrub growth. It is evident from Satellite images compared to photos from aerial photos from the 20’s and 30’s that much of the island past the dredge points is still the same and many landmarks are still present that can be found in old photos and battle maps from the 1860’s. The graves of the Union Soldiers may still be on the island, and in all probability they still are. The graves of most of the confederate soldiers who were buried behind wanger probably still are. The grave of Shaw and his men however was most likely disturbed by union siege sappers when they dug the final trenches up to the moat of wagner which went right through some of the Union mass graves, (Gate of Hell, Wise; and History of the Civil War, Library of Congress, official U.S. war records.) This however is speculative and we cannot prove that his body was among those disturbed. He may indeed still be interred on the island. Perhaps one day the Fort Sumter park service and the city of Charleston will begin archaelogical surveying and excavations before the island is truly gone. The only excavations that have been done with the park service occured in the late 1980’s using what is called pit excavation techniques and turned up several skeletons.