Fort Wagner

No African-American Civil War  is as famous  as  the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry. 

African-American soldiers felt they had to prove their worth as human beings, not just as fighting men, when they charged into battle.

They had their opportunity at an Confederate earthwork called Fort Wagner. The fort was part of the defense of Charleston, South Carolina. Although the battle of Fort Wagner was minor compared to the Civil War's major battles, it educated a nation about the  bravery of its black soldiers.

At twilight on July 18, 1863, Col. Shaw and the 54th led two Union brigades through the Carolina low country and across a sandy beach toward the fort.

According to black historian George Williams  "All day they marched over the island under the exhausting heat of a July sun in Carolina...All night the march was continued through darkness and rain, through thunder and lightning.

As they approached, the Confederates let loose blast after blast of musket-fire into the soldiers. Although men fell left and right, the bulk of the 54th managed to charge onto the parapets of the fort, climbing down into it to fight hand to hand. The 54th was able to hold its ground for an hour before finally being pushed back.

Frederick Douglass' son Lewis wrote to his sweetheart shortly after the battle, "This regiment has established itself as a fighting regiment...not a man flinched, though it was a trying time...Remember if I die, I die in a good cause. I wish we had a hundred thousand colored troops--we would put an end to this war."

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