In all seriousness. Today is the 144th anniversary of the 54th Massachusetts' spearhead assault on Fort Wagner, Charleston, South Carolina.
For those of you who have never seen Glory, the 54th was the first formal African American military unit.
Led by Robert Gould Shaw, they led the assault to take Fort Wagner (which the Union never did). Out of 600 men, 172 were either killed, wounded or captured.
Sergeant William Harvey Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor, for grabbing the US flag as the flag bearer fell, carrying the flag to the enemy ramparts and back, and saying "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground!" While other African-Americans had since been granted the award, Carney's is the earliest action for which the Medal of Honor was awarded to an African-American.
Since the first time I saw Glory it has been one of my favorite movies. Their story is an incredibly important one to tell. If you haven't seen it I hope you will take the time to do it soon.
Note:
***I ganked my info and even whole sentences from Wikipedia***
For those of you who have never seen Glory, the 54th was the first formal African American military unit.
Led by Robert Gould Shaw, they led the assault to take Fort Wagner (which the Union never did). Out of 600 men, 172 were either killed, wounded or captured.
Sergeant William Harvey Carney was awarded the Medal of Honor, for grabbing the US flag as the flag bearer fell, carrying the flag to the enemy ramparts and back, and saying "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground!" While other African-Americans had since been granted the award, Carney's is the earliest action for which the Medal of Honor was awarded to an African-American.
Since the first time I saw Glory it has been one of my favorite movies. Their story is an incredibly important one to tell. If you haven't seen it I hope you will take the time to do it soon.
Note:
***I ganked my info and even whole sentences from Wikipedia***
1 comment:
I can't watch Glory. It makes me cry like a Paris Hilton going to jail every time.
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