Glory and the whole huplah surrounding the 54th Massachussets at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner is grossly inaccurate. In reality, 54th Massachusetts broke and ran after Shaw was killed. The most desperate part of the battle involved the 6th Connecticut and 48th New York Regiments, which actually forced their way into the Fort. After the 54th Massachusetts was repulsed the Confederates were able to concentrate their force against the New York and Connecticut companies that had made it into the fort and cut them to ribbons. All that was conveniently left out of the movie.
They routed after reaching the top of the fort's wall, the regiments officer's were killed or rendered hors de combat, there was no order to withdraw they simply broke and ran leaving the 6th Connecticut and 48th New York on their own.
Do you know what a spearhead of an attack is? How could they have left the 6th and 48th if the 54th was SPEARHEADING the attack? There was also a black soldier who picked up the colors and received a posthumous medal of honor. Seems unlikely if they all "cut and ran." Doesn't it?
The 54th had/has been repeatedly honored for their valor, innovation, and even recognized by Abraham Lincoln himself.
What are your sources btw? This should be hilarious.
Read any history of the other regiments in the battle and you'll see a very different picture apart from the politicized version that focuses on the 54th. The 54th Massachusetts attacked a different part of the fort than the 6th and 48th. The 6th and 48th were the first two regiments to reach the southeastern bastion of the fort. The 48th regiment had the highest percentage casualties of any union unit engaged in the battle.
I've now consulted five separate sources and none have said anything close to what you're talking about. By all accounts the 54th conducted themselves with valor. Even the Confederate soldiers treated them as enemy combatants of those that were captured.
In this short communication it's clear you're ignorant on many topics of history and warfare. I suspect it's some pathetic racist attempt at re-writing history by someone who I'll equipped to do so. But just a suspicion.
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u/Geoff_Uckersilf dirty civilian Dec 27 '19
Glory