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HISTORY of the FIFTY-FOURTH
REGIMENT
of
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
1863-1865
by Luis Fenollosa Emilio
Published:
Boston:
The History Book Company
1894.
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CHAPTER V.
THE GREATER ASSAULT ON WAGNER
[Page 67]
ON the "General
Hunter" the officers procured breakfast; but the men were still
without rations. Refreshed, the officers were all together for
the last time socially; before another day three were dead, and
three wounded who never returned. Captain Simpkins,
whose manly appearance and clear-cut features were so pleasing to
look up, was, as always, quiet and dignified; Captain Russell
was voluble and active as ever, despite all fatigue. Neither
appeared to have any premonition of their fate. It was
different with Colonel Shaw, who again expressed to
Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell his apprehension of speedy death.
Running up Folly River, the steamer arrived at Pawnee
Landing, where, at 9 A.M., the Fifty-fourth disembarked.
Crossing the island through woods, the camps of several regiments
were passed, from which soldiers ran out, shouting, "Well done! we
heard your guns!" Others cried, "Hurrah, boys! you saved the
Tenth Connecticut!" Leaving the timber, the Fifty-fourth came
to the sea beach, where marching was easier. Stretching away
to the horizon, on the right, was the Atlantic; to the left, sand
hillocks, with pine woods farther inland. Occasional squalls
of rain came, bringing rubber blankets and coats into use. At
one point on the beach, a box of water-soaked hard bread was
discovered, and the contents speedily
[Page 68]
divided among the hungry men. Firing at the front had been
heard from early morning, which toward noon was observed to have
risen into a heavy cannonade.
After a march of some six miles, we arrived at
Lighthouse Inlet and rested, awaiting transportation. Tuneful
voices about the colors started the song, "When this Cruel War is
Over," and the pathetic words of the chorus were taken up by others.
It was the last song of many; but few then thought it was requiem.
By ascending the sand-hills, we could see the distant vessels
engaging Wagner. When all was prepared, the
Fifty-fourth boarded a smaller steamer, landed on Morris Island,
about 5 P.M., and remained near the shore for further orders.
General Gillmore, on the 13th, began
constructing four batteries, mountain forty-two guns and mortars, to
damage the slopes and guns of Wagner, which were completed
under the enemy's fire, and in spite of a sortie at night, on the
14th. He expected to open with them on the 16th; but heavy
rains so delayed progress that all was not prepared until the 18th.
Beyond this siege line, which was 1,350 yards south of Wagner,
stretched a narrow strip of land between the sea and Vincent's
Creek, with its marshes. At low tide, the beach sand afforded
a good pathway to the enemy's position; but at high tide, it was
through deep, loose sand, and over low sand hillocks. This
stretch of sand was unobstructed, until at a point two hundred yards
in front of Wagner, the enemy had made a line of rifle trenches.
Some fifty yards nearer Wagner, an easterly bend of the marsh
extended to within twenty-five yards of the sea at high tide,
forming a defile, through which an assaulting column must pass.
[Page 69]
Nearly
covered by this sweep of the marsh, and commanding it as well as the
stretch of sand beyond to the Federal line, was "Battery Wagner," so
named by the Confederates, in memory of Lieut.-Col. Thomas M.
Wagner, First South Carolina Artillery, killed at Fort Sumter.
This field work was constructed of quartz sand, with turf and
palmetto log revetment, and occupied the whole width of the island
there, - some six hundred and thirty feet. Its southern and
principal front was double-bastioned. Next the sea was a heavy
traverse and curtain covering a sally-port. Then came the
southeast bastion, prolonged westerly by a curtain connected with
the southwest bastion. At the western end was another
sally-port. An infantry parapet closed the rear or north face.
It has large bombproofs, magazines, and heavy traverses.
Wagner's armament was reported to its commander,
July 15, as follows: on sea face, one ten-inch Columbiad, and two
smooth-bore thirty-two-pounders; on southeast bastion, operating on
land and sea, one rifled thirty-two-pounder; on south point of
bastion operating on land, one forty-two pounder carronade; in the
curtain, with direct fire on land approach to embrasure, two
eight-inch naval shell-guns, one eight-inch sea-coast howitzer, and
one thirty-two-pounder smooth-bore; on the flank defences of the
curtain, two thirty-two-pounder carronades in embrasures; on the
southerly face, one thirty-two-pounder carronade in embrasure; in
southwest angle, one ten-inch sea-coast mortar; on bastion gorge,
one thirty-two-pounder carronade. There were also four
twelve-pounder howitzers. All the northerly portion of Morris
Island was in range of Fort Sumter, the eastern James Island and the
[Page 70]
Sullivan's Island batteries, besides Fort Gregg, on the northerly
extremity of Morris Island, which mounted three guns.
Brig.-Gen. William B. Taliaferro, an able
officer, who had served with distinction under "Stonewall"
Jackson was in command of Morris Island, for the Confederates.
Wagner's garrison, on the 18th, consisted of the Thirty-first
and Fifty-first North Carolina, the Charleston Battalion, two
companies Sixty-third Georgia Heavy Artillery, and two companies
First South Carolina Infantry, acting as artillery, and two guns
each of the Palmetto and Blake's Artillery, - a total force of
seventeen hundred men. Such was the position, armament, and
garrison of the strongest single earthwork known in the history of
warfare.
About 10 A.M., on the 18th, five wooden gunboats joined
the land batteries in shelling Wagner, lying out of the
enemy's range. At about 12.30 P. M., five monitors and the
"New Ironsides" opened, and the land batteries increased their fire.
A deluge of shot was not poured into the work, driving the main
portion of its garrison into the bombproofs, and throwing showers of
sand from the slopes of Wagner into the air but to fall back in
place again. The enemy's flag was twice shot away, and, until
replaced, a battle-flag was planted with great gallantry by daring
men. From Gregg, Sumter, and the James and Sullivan's Island
batteries, the enemy returned the iron compliments; while for
a time Wagner's cannoneers ran out at intervals, and served a
part of the guns, at great risk.
A fresh breeze blew that day; at times the sky was
clear; the atmosphere, lightened by recent rains, resounded
[Page 71]
with the thunders of an almost incessant cannonade.
Smoke-clouds hung over the naval vessels, our batteries, and those
of the enemy. During this terrible bombardment, the two
infantry regiments and the artillery companies, except gun
detachments, kept in the bombproofs. But the Charleston
Battalion lay all day under the parapets of Wagner. - a
terrible ordeal, which was borne without demoralization. In
spite of the tremendous fire, the enemy's loss was only eight men
killed and twenty wounded before the assault.
General Taliaferro foresaw that this bombardment
was preliminary to an assault, and had instructed his force to take
certain assigned positions when the proper time came. Too
three companies of the Charleston Battalion was given the
Confederate right along the parapet; the Fifty-first North Carolina,
along the curtain; and the Thirty-first North Carolina, the left,
including the southeast bastion. Two companies of the
Charleston Battalion were placed outside the work, covering the
gorge. A small reserve was assigned to the body of the fort.
Two field-pieces were to fire from the traverse flanking the beach
face and approach. For the protection of the eight-inch
shell-guns in the curtain and the field-pieces, they were covered
with sand-bags, until desired for service. Thoroughly
conservant with the ground, the Confederate commander rightly
calculated that the defile would break up the formation of his
assailants at a critical moment, when at close range.
General Gillmore, at noon, ascended the lookout
on a hill within his lines, and examined the ground in front.
Throughout the day this high point was the gathering-place of
observers. The tide turned to flow at 4 P.M.,
[Page 72]
and about the same time firing from Wagner ceased, and not a
man was to be seen there. During the afternoon the troops were
moving from their camps toward the front. Late in the day the
belief was general that the enemy had been driven from his shelter,
and the armament of Wagner rendered harmless.
General Gillmore, after calling his chief officers together for
conference, decided to attack that evening, and the admiral was so
notified. Firing from land and sea was still kept up with
deceased rapidity, while the troops were preparing.
Upon arriving at Morris Island, Colonel Shaw and
Adjutant James walked toward the front to report to
General Strong, who they at last found, and who announced that
Fort Wagner was to be stormed that evening. Knowing Colonel
Shaw's desire to place his men beside white troops, he said,
"You may lead the column, if you say 'yes.' Your men, I known,
are worn out, but do as you chose." Shaw's face
brightened, and before replying, he requested Adjutant James
to return and have Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell bring up the
Fifty-fourth. Adjutant James, who relates this
interview, then departed on his mission. Receiving this order,
the regiment marched on to General Strong's headquarters,
where a halt of five minutes was made about 6 o'clock P.M.
Noticing the worn look of the men, who had passed two days without
an issue of rations, and no food since morning, when the weary march
began, the general expressed his sympathy and his great desire that
they might have food and stimulant. It could not be, however,
for it was necessary that the regiment should move on to the
position assigned.
Detaining Colonel Shaw to take supper with him,
[Page 73]
General Strong sent the Fifty-fourth forward under the
lieutenant-colonel toward the front, moving by the middle road west
of the sand-hills. Gaining a point where these elevations gave
place to low ground, the long blue line of the regiment advancing by
the flank attracted the attention of the enemy's gunners on James
Island. Several solid shot were fired at the column, without
doing any damage, but they recochetted ahead or over the line in
dangerous proximity. Realizing that the national colors and
the white flag of the State especially attracted the enemy's fire,
the bearers began to roll them up on the staves. At the
same moment, Captain Simpkins commanding the color company
(K) turned to observe his men. His quick eye noted the
half-furled flags with uplifted sword, he commanded in imperative
tones, "Unfurl those colors!" It was done, and the fluttering
silks again waved, untrammelled, in the air.
Colonel Shaw, at about 6:30 P.M., mounted and
accompanied General Strong toward the front. After
proceeding a short distance, he turned back, and gave to Mr.
Edward L. Pierce, a personal friend, who had been General
Strong's guest for several days, his letters and some papers,
with a request to forward them to his family if anything occurred to
him requiring such service. That sudden purpose accomplished,
he galloped away, overtook the regiment, and informed Lieutenant-Colonel
Hallowell of what the Fifty-fourth was expected to do.
The direction was changed to the right, advancing east toward the
sea. By orders, Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell broke the
column at the sixth company, and led the companies of
[Page 74]
the left wing to the rear of those of the right wing. When the
sea beach was reached, the regiment halted and came to rest,
awaiting the coming up of the supporting regiments.
General Gillmore had assigned to General
Seymour the command of the assaulting column, charging him with
its organization, formation, and all the details of the attack.
His force was formed into three brigades of infantry; the first
under General Strong, composed of the Fifty-fourth
Massachusetts, Sixth Connecticut, Forty-eighth New York, Third New
Hampshire, Ninth Maine, and Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania; the second,
under Col. Haldimand S. Putnam of his own regiment, - the
Seventh New Hampshire, - One Hundredth New York, Sixty-second and
Sixty-seventh Ohio; the third, or reserve brigade, under
Brig.-Gen. Thomas G. Stevenson of the Twenty-fourth
Massachusetts, Tenth Connecticut, Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania, and
Second South Carolina. Four companies of the Seventh
Connecticut, and some regular and volunteer artillery-men manned and
served the guns of the siege line.
Formed in column of wings, with the right resting near
the sea, at a short distance in advance of the works, the men of the
Fifty-fourth were ordered to lie down, there muskets loaded but not
capped, and bayonets fixed. There the regiment remained for
half an hour, while the formation of the storming column and reserve
was perfected. To the Fifty-fourth had been given the post of
honor, not by chance, but by deliberate selection. General
Seymour has stated the reasons why this honorable but dangerous
duty was assigned the regiment in the following words: -
[Page 75]
"It was believed that the Fifty-fourth was in every
respect as efficient as any other body of men; and as it was one of
the strongest and best officered, there seemed to be no good reason
why it should not be selected for the advance. This point was
decided by General Strong and myself.
In numbers
the Fifty-fourth had present but six hundred men, for besides the
large camp guard and the sick left at St. Helena Island, and the
losses sustained on James Island, on the 16th, a fatigue detail of
eighty men under Lieut. Francis L. Higginson did not
participate in the attack.
The formation of the regiment for the assault was, as
shown in the diagram below, with Companies B and E on the right of
the respective wings.
RIGHT WING.
K C I A B
LEFT WING.
H F G D E
Colonel
Shaw, Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell,
Adjutant James, seven captains, and twelve lieutenants, -
a total of twenty-two officers, advanced to the assault.
Surgeon Stone and Quartermaster Ritchie
were present on the field. Both field officers were
dismounted; the band and musicians acted as stretcher-bearers.
To many a gallant man these scenes upon the sands were
the last of earth; to the survivors they will be ever present.
Away over the sea to the eastward the heavy sea-fog was gathering,
the western sky bright with the reflected light, for the sun had
set. Far away thunder mingled with the occasional boom of
cannon. The gathering host all about, the silent lines
stretching away to the rear, the passing of a horseman now and then
carry-
[Page 76]
ing orders, - all was ominous of the impending onslaught. Far
and indistinct in front was the now silent earthwork, seamed,
scarred, and ploughed with shot, its flag still waving in defiance.
Among the dark soldiers who were to lead veteran
regiments which were equal in drill and discipline to any in the
country, there was a lack of their usual light-heartedness, for they
realized, partially at least, the dangers they were to encounter.
But there was little nervousness and no depression observable.
It took but a touch to bring out their irrepressible spirit and
humor in the old way. When a cannon-shot from the enemy came
toward the line and passed over, a man or two moved nervously,
calling out a sharp reproof from Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell, whom
the men still spoke of as "the major." Thereupon one soldier
quietly remarked to his comrades, "I guess the major forgets what
kind of balls them is!" Another added, thinking of the foe, "I
guess they kind of 'spec's we're coming.
Naturally the officers' thoughts were largely regarding
their men. Soon they would know whether the lessons they had
taught of soldierly duty would bear good fruit. Would they
have cause for exultation or be compelled to sheathe their swords,
rather than lead cowards Unknown to them, the whole question
of employing three hundred thousand colored soldiers hung in the
balance. But few, however, doubted the result. Wherever
a white officer led that night, even to the gun-muzzles and
bayonet-points, there, by his side, were black men as brave and
steadfast as himself.
At last the formation of the column was nearly
perfected. The Sixth Connecticut had taken position in
[Page 77]
column of companies just in rear of the Fifty-fourth. About
this time, Colonel Shaw walked back to Lieutenant-Colonel
Hallowell, and said "I shall go in advance with the National
flag. You will keep the State flag with you; it will give the
men something to rally round. We shall take the fort or die
there! Good-by!"
Presently, General Strong, mounted upon a
spirited gray horse, in full uniform, with a yellow handkerchief
bound around his neck, rode in front of the Fifty-fourth,
accompanied by two aids and two orderlies. He addressed the
men; and his words, as given by an officer of the regiment, were:
"Boys, I am a Massachusetts man, and I know you will fight for the
honor of the State. I am sorry you must go into the fight
tired and hungry, but the men in the fort are tired too. There
are but three hundred behind those walls, and they have been
fighting all day. Don't fire a musket on the way up, but go in
and bayonet them at their guns." Calling out the color-bearer,
he said, "If this man should fall, who will lift the flag and carry
it on?" Colonel Shaw, standing near, took a cigar from
between his lips, and said quietly, "I will." The men loudly
responded the Colonel Shaw's pledge, while General Strong
rode away to give the signal for advancing.
Colonel Shaw calmly walked up and down the line
of his regiment. He was clad in a close-fitting
staff-officer's jacket, with a silver eagle donoting his rank on
each shoulder. His trousers were light blue; a fine narrow
silk sash was wound round his waist beneath the jacket. Upon
his head was a high felt army hat with cord. Depending from
his sword-belt was a field-officer's sword of English manufacture,
with the initials of his name worked
[Page 78]
into the ornamentation of the guard. On his hand was
an antique gem set in a ring. In his pocket was a gold
watch, marked with his name, attached to a gold chain.
Although he had given certain papers and letters to his
friend, Mr. Pierce, he retained his pocket book,
which doubtless contained papers which would establish his
identity. His manner generally reserved before his
men, seemed to unbend to them, for he spoke as he had never
done before. He said, "Now I want you to prove
yourselves men," and reminded them that the eyes of
thousands would look upon the night's work. His
bearing was composed and graceful; his cheek had somewhat
paled; and the slight twitching of the corners of his mouth
plainly showed that the whole cost was counted, and his
expressed determination to take the fort or die was to be
carried out.
Meanwhile the twilight deepened, as the minutes, drawn
out by waiting, passed, before the signal was given.
Officers had silently grasped one another's hands, brought
their revolvers round to the front, and tightened their
sword-belts. The men whispered last injunctions to
comrades, and listened for the word of command.
The preparations usual in an assault were not made.
There was no provision for cutting away obstructions,
filling the ditch, or spiking the guns. No special
instructions were given the stormers; no line of skirmishers
or covering party was thrown out; no engineers or guides
accompanied the column; no artillery-men to serve captured
guns; no plan of the work was shown company officers.
It was understood that the fort would be assaulted with the
bayonet, and that the Fifty-fourth would be closely
supported.
[Page 79]
While on the
sands a few cannon-shots had reached the regiment, one passing
between the wings, another over to the right. When the
inaction had become almost unendurable, the signal to advance came.
Colonel Shaw walked along the front to the centre, and giving
the command, "Attention!" the men sprang to their feet. Then
came the admonition, "Move in quick time until within a hundred
yards of the fort; then double quick, and charge!" A slight
pause, followed by the sharp command, "forward!" and the
Fifty-fourth advanced to the storming.
There had been a partial resumption of the bombardment
during the formation, but now only an occasional shot was heard.
The enemy in Wagner had seen the preparations, knew what was coming,
and were awaiting the blow. With Colonel Shaw leading,
sword in hand, the long advance over three quarters of a mile of
sand had begun, with wings closed up and company officers
admonishing their men to preserve the alignment. Guns from
Sumter, Sullivan's Island, and James Island, began to play upon the
regiment. It was about 7.45 P.M., with darkness coming on
rapidly, when the Fifty-fourth moved. With barely room for the
formation from the first, the narrowing way between the sand
hillocks and the sea soon caused a strong pressure to the right, so
that Captains Willard and Emilio on the right of the
right companies of their wings were some of their men forced to
march in water up to their knees, at each incoming of the sea.
Moving at quick time, and preserving its formation as
well as the difficult ground and narrowing way permitted, the
Fifty-fourth was approaching the defile made by the easterly sweep
of the marsh. Darkness was rapidly com-
[Page 80]
lug on, and each moment became deeper. Soon men on the flanks
were compelled to fall behind, for want of room to continue in line.
The centre only had a free path, and with eyes strained upon the
colonel and the flag, they pressed on toward the work, now only two
hundred yards away.
At that moment Wagner became a mound of fire, from
which poured a stream of shot and shell. Just a brief lull,
and the deafening explosions of cannon were renewed, mingled with
the crash and rattle of musketry. A sheet of flame, followed
by a running fire, like electric sparks, swept along the parapet, as
the Fifty-first North Carolina gave a direct, and the Charleston
Battalion a left-oblique, fire on the Fifty-fourth. Their
Thirty-first North Carolina had lost heart, and failed to take
position in the southeast bastion, — fortunately, too, for had its
musketry fire been added to that delivered, it is doubtful whether
any Federal troops could have passed the defile.
When this tempest of war came, before which men fell in
numbers on every side, the only response the Fifty-fourth made to
the deadly challenge was to change step to the double-quick, that it
might the sooner close with the foe. There had been no stop,
pause, or check at any period of the advance, nor was there now.
As the swifter pace was taken, and officers sprang to the fore with
waving swords barely seen in the darkness, the men closed the gaps,
and with set jaws, panting breath, and bowed heads, charged on.
Wagner's wall, momentarily lit up by cannon-flashes,
was still the goal toward which the survivors rushed in sadly
diminished numbers. It was now dark, the gloom made more
intense by the blinding explosions in the
Fort Wagner Charge of 54th Mass.
July 18, 1863
[Page 81]
front. This terrible fire which the regiment had just faced,
probably caused the greatest number of casualties sustained by the
Fifty-fourth in the assault; for nearer the work the men were
somewhat sheltered by the high parapet. Every flash showed the
ground dotted with men of the regiment, killed or wounded.
Great holes, made by the huge shells of the navy or the land
batteries, were pitfalls into which the men stumbled or fell.
Colonel Shaw led the regiment to the left
toward the curtain of the work, thus passing the southeast bastion,
and leaving it to the right hand. From that salient no
musketry fire came; and some Fifty-fourth men first entered it, not
following the main body by reason of the darkness. As the
survivors drew near the work, they encountered the flanking fire
delivered from guns in the southwest salient, and the howitzers
outside the fort, which swept the trench, where further severe
losses were sustained. Nothing but the ditch now separated the
stormers and the foe. Down into this they went, through the
two or three feet of water therein, and mounted the slope beyond in
the teeth of the enemy, some of whom, standing on the crest, fired
down on them with depressed pieces. Both flags were planted on
the parapet, the national flag carried there and gallantly
maintained by the brave Sergt. William H. Carney of Company
C.
In the pathway from the defile to the fort many brave
men had fallen. Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell was
severely wounded in the groin, Captain Willard in the
leg, Adjutant James in the ankle and side, Lieutenant
Romans in the shoulder. Lieutenants Smith and
Pratt were also wounded. Colonel Shaw had
led his regiment from first to last. Gaining the rampart, he
stood there for a mo-
[Page 82]
ment with uplifted sword, shouting, "Forward, Fifty-fourth!" and
then fell dead, shot through the heart, be sides other wounds.
Not a shot had been fired by the regiment up to this
time. As the crest was gained, the crack of revolver-shots was
heard, for the officers fired into the surging mass of upturned
faces confronting them, lit up redly but a moment by the
powder-flashes. Musket-butts and bayonets were freely used on the
parapet, where the stormers were gallantly met. The garrison
fought with muskets, handspikes, and gun-rammers, the officers
striking with their swords, so close were the combatants.
Numbers, however, soon told against the Fifty-fourth, for it was
tens against hundreds. Outlined against the sky, they were a
fair mark for the foe. Men fell every moment during the brief
struggle. Some of the wounded crawled down the slope to
shelter; others fell headlong into the ditch below.
It was seen from the volume of musketry fire, even
before the walls were gained, that the garrison was stronger than
had been supposed, and brave in defending the work. The first
rush had failed, for those of the Fifty-fourth who reached the
parapet were too few in numbers to overcome the garrison, and the
supports were not at hand to take full advantage of their first
fierce attack. Repulsed from the crest after the short
hand-to-hand struggle, the assailants fell back upon the exterior
slope of the rampart. There the men were encouraged to remain
by their officers, for by sweeping the top of the parapet with
musketry, and firing at those trying to serve the guns, they would
greatly aid an advancing force. For a time this was done, but
at the cost of more lives. The
[Page 83]
enemy's fire became more effective as the numbers of the
Fifty-fourth diminished. Hand grenades or lighted shells were
rolled down the slope, or thrown over into the ditch.
All this time the remaining officers and men of the
Fifty-fourth were firing at the hostile figures about the guns, or
that they saw spring upon the parapet, fire, and jump away.
One brave fellow, with his broken arm lying across his breast, was
piling cartridges upon it for Lieutenant Emerson, who,
like other officers, was using a musket he had picked up.
Another soldier, tired of the enforced combat, climbed the slope to
his fate; for in a moment his dead body rolled down again. A
particularly severe fire came from the southwest bastion.
There a Confederate was observed, who, stripped to the waist, with
daring exposure for some time dealt out fatal shots; but at last
three eager marksmen fired together, and he fell back into the fort,
to appear no more. Capt. J. W. M. Appleton
distinguished himself before the curtain. He crawled into an
embrasure, and with his pistol prevented the artillery-men from
serving the gun. Private George Wilson of Company A had
been shot through both shoulders, but refused to go back until he
had his captain's permission. While occupied with this
faithful soldier, who came to him as he lay in the embrasure,
Captain Anderson's attention was distracted, and the gun was
fired.
In the fighting upon the slopes of Wagner, Captains
Russel and Simpkins were killed or mortally wounded.
Captain Pope there received a severe wound in the shoulder.
All these events had taken place in a short period of
[Page 84]
time. The charge of the Fifty-fourth had been made and
repulsed before the arrival of any other troops. Those who had
clung to the bloody slopes or were lying in the ditch, hearing
fighting going on at their right, realized at last that the expected
succor would not reach them where they were. To retire through
the enveloping fire was as dangerous and deadly as to advance.
Some that night preferred capture to the attempt at escaping; but
the larger portion managed to fall back, singly or in squads, beyond
the musketry fire of the garrison.
Captain Emilio, the junior of that rank,
succeeded to the command of the Fifty-fourth on the field by
casualties. After retiring from Wagner to a point where men
were encountered singly or in small squads, he determined to rally
as many as possible. With the assistance of Lieutenants
Grace and Dexter, a large portion of the Fifty-fourth
survivors were collected and formed in line, together with a
considerable number of white soldiers of various regiments.
Wile thus engaged, the national flag of the Fifty-fourth was brought
to Captain Emelio; but as it was useless as a rallying-point
in the darkness, it was sent to the rear for safety.
Sergeant CArney had bravely brought this flag from Wagner's
parapet, at the cost of two grievous wounds. The State color
was torn from the staff, the silk was found by the enemy in the
moat, while the staff remained with us.
Finding a line of rifle trench unoccupied and no
indication that dispositions were being made for holding it,
believing that the enemy would attempt a sortie, which was indeed
contemplated but not attempted, Captain Emilio there
stationed his men, disposed to defend the line. Other men were
collected as they appeared. Lieut-
[Page 85]
tenant Tucker, slightly wounded, who was among the
last to leave the sand hills near the fort, joined this force.
Desultory firing was still going
on, and after a time,
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black soldiers had been captured. Under the acts of the
Confederate Congress they were outlaws, to be delivered to the State
authorities when captured, for trial; and the penalty of servile
insurrection was death.
The fate of Captains Russel and
Simpkins was also unknown. It was thought possible that
they too were captured. Governor Andrew and the
friends of the regiment therefore exerted themselves to have the
Government throw out its protecting hand over its colored soldiers
and their officers in the enemy's hands.
Two sections were at once added to General Orders No.
100 of the War Department, relating to such prisoners, a copy of
which was transmitted to the Confederate commissioner, Robert
Ould. The first set forth that once a soldier no man
was responsible individually for warlike acts; the second, that the
law of nations recognized no distinctions of color, and that if the
enemy enslaved or sold the captured soldier, as the United States
could not enslave, death would be the penalty in retaliation.
The President also met the case in point involving the Fifty-fourth
prisoners, by issuing the following proclamation:
Executive Mansion, Washington, July 80, 1863.
It is the duty of every
government to give protection to its citizens of whatever class,
color, or condition, and especially to those who are duly organized
as soldiers in the public service. The law of nations and the
usages and customs of war, as carried on by civilized powers, permit
no distinction as to color in the treatment of prisoners of war as
public enemies. To sell or enslave any captured person on
account of his color, and for no offence against the laws of war, is
a relapse into barbarism and a crime against the civilization of the
age. The Government of the United States will give the same
protection
LIEUT. FREDERICK H. WEBSTER
CAPT. WILLIAM H. SIMPKINS
CAPT. CABUT J. RUSSEL
LIEUT. EDWARD L. STEVENS
[Page 97]
to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or enslave any one
because of his color, the offence shall be punished by retaliation
upon the enemy's prisoners in our hands.
It is therefore ordered that for every soldier of the
United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a Rebel
soldier shall be executed, and for every one enslaved by the enemy
or sold into slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor
on the public works, and continue at such labor until the other
shall be released and receive the treatment due a prisoner of war.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By order of the Secretary of War,
E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Such prompt
and vigorous enunciations had a salutary effect; and the enemy did
not proceed to extremities. But the Fifty-fourth men were
demanded by Governor Bonham, of South Carolina, from the
military authorities. A test case was made; and Sergt.
Walter A. Jeffries of Company H, and Corp. Charles
Hardy of Company B, were actually tried for their lives.
They were successfully defended by the ablest efforts of one of the
most brilliant of Southern advocates, the Union-loving and noble
Nelson Mitchell, of Charleston, who, with a courage
rarely equalled, fearlessly assumed the self-imposed task.
Thence forth never noticed, this devoted man died a few months after
in Charleston, neglected and in want, because of this and other
loyal acts. For months no list could be obtained of the
Fifty-fourth prisoners, the enemy absolutely refusing information.
After long imprisonment in Charleston jail, they were taken to
Florence stockade, and were finally released in the spring of 1865.
The best attainable information shows that the survivors then
numbered some twenty-seven, some of whom rejoined the regi-
[Page 98]
ment, while others were discharged from parole camps or hospitals.
Colonel Shaw's fate was soon ascertained
from those who saw him fall, and in a day or two it was learned from
the enemy that his body had been found, identified, and, on July 19,
buried with a number of his colored soldiers. The most
circumstantial account relating thereto is contained in a letter to
the writer from Capt. H. W. Hendricks, a Confederate officer
who was present at the time, dated from Charleston, S. C, June 29,
1882; and the following extracts are made therefrom: —
"... Colonel
Shaw fell on the left of our flagstaff about ten yards towards
the river, near the bombproof immediately on our works, with a
number of his officers and men. He was instantly killed, and
fell outside of our works. The morning following the battle
his body was carried through our lines; and I noticed that he was
stripped of all his clothing save under-vest and drawers. This
desecration of the dead we endeavored to provide against; but at
that time — the incipiency of the Rebellion — our men were so
frenzied that it was next to impossible to guard against it; this
desecration, however, was almost exclusively participated in by the
more desperate and lower class of our troops. Colonel
Shaw's body was brought in from the sally-port on the
Confederate right, and conveyed across the parade-ground into the
bombproof by four of our men of the burial party. Soon after,
his body was carried out via the sally-port on the left river-front,
and conveyed across the front of our works, and there buried. . . .
His watch and chain were robbed from his body by a private in my
company, by name Charles Blake. I think he had
other personal property of Colonel Shaw. . . .
Blake, with other members of my company, jumped our works at
night after hostilities had ceased, and robbed the dead. . . .
Colonel Shaw was the only officer buried with the colored
troops. . . ."
[Page 99]
Such disposal of the remains of an officer of Colonel Shaw's
rank, when his friends were almost within call, was so unusual and
cruel that there seemed good ground for the belief that the
disposition made was so specially directed, as a premeditated
indignity for having dared to lead colored troops. When known
throughout the North, it excited general indignation, and fostered
bitterness. Though recognizing the fitness of his
resting-place, where in death he was not separated from the men he
was in life not ashamed to lead, the act was universally condemned.
It was even specifically stated in a letter which appeared in the
"Army and Navy Journal," of New York City, written by Asst.-Surg.
John T. Luck, U. S. N., who was captured while engaged in
assisting our wounded during the morning of July 19, that Gen.
Johnson Hagood, who had succeeded General Taliaferro in
command of Battery Wagner that morning, was responsible for the
deed. The following is extracted from that letter: —
". . . While being
conducted into the fort, I saw Colonel Shaw of the Fifty-four
Massachusetts (colored) Regiment lying dead upon the ground just
outside the parapet. A stalwart negro man had fallen near him.
The Rebels said the negro was a color sergeant. The colonel
had been killed by a rifle-shot through the chest, though he had
received other wounds. Brigadier-General
Hagood, commanding the Rebel forces, said to me: 'I knew
Colonel Shaw before the war, and then esteemed him.
Had he been in command of white troops, I should have given him an
honorable burial; as it is, I shall bury him in the common trench
with the negroes that fell with him.' The burial party were
then at work; and no doubt Colonel Shaw was
buried just beyond the ditch of the fort in the trench where
[Page 100]
I saw our dead indiscriminately thrown. Two days afterwards a
Rebel surgeon (Dr. Dawson, of Charleston, S. C, I
think) told me that Hagood had carried out his threat."
Assistant-Surgeon Luck's statement is, however,
contradicted by General Hagood; for having requested
information upon the matter, the writer, in December, 1885, received
from Gen. Samuel Jones, of Washington, a copy
of a letter written by Gen. Johnson Hagood to
Col. T. W. Higginson, of Cambridge, Mass., dated Sept.
21, 1881. General Hagood quotes from Colonel
Higginson's letter of inquiry relative to Colonel
Shaw's burial, the conversation which Assistant-Surgeon
Luck alleges to have had with him at Battery Wagner about the
disposition of Colonel Shaw's body, as set forth in
the extract given from Assistant-Surgeon Luck's
letter, and then gives his (General Hagood's) account
of the meeting with Assistant-Surgeon Luck as
follows, the italics being those of the general : —
"On the day after the night assault and while the
burial parties of both sides were at work on the field, a chain of
sentinels dividing them, a person was brought to me where I was
engaged within the battery in repairing damages done to the work.
The guard said he had been found wandering within our lines, engaged
apparently in nothing except making observations. The man
claimed to be a naval surgeon belonging to gunboat 'Pawnee;' and
after asking him some questions about the damages sustained by that
vessel a few days before in the Stono River from an encounter with a
field battery on its banks, I informed him that he would be sent up
to Charleston for such disposition as General Beauregard
deemed proper. I do not recall the name of this person,
and have not heard of him since, but he must be the Dr.
Leech [Luck?] of whom you speak. I
[Page 101]
have no recollection of other conversation with him than that
given above. He has, however, certainly reported me
incorrectly in one particular. I never saw or heard of
Colonel Shaw until his body was pointed out to me that
morning, and his name and rank mentioned. . . . I simply give my
recollection in reply to his statement. As he has confounded
what he probably heard from others within the battery of their
previous knowledge of Colonel Shaw, he may at the distance of
time at which he spoke have had his recollection of his interview
with me confounded in other respects.
"You further ask if a request from General
Terry for Colonel Shaw's body was refused the day after
the battle. I answer distinctly, No. At the written
request of General Gillmore, I, as commander of the
battery, met General Vogdes (not Terry), on a
flag of truce on the 22d. Upon this flag an exchange of
wounded prisoners was arranged, and Colonel Putnam's
body was asked for and delivered. Colonel Shaw's
body was not asked for then or at any other time to my knowledge. .
. . No special order was ever issued by me, verbally or
otherwise, in regard to the burial of Colonel Shaw or
any other officer or man at Wagner. The only order was a
verbal one to bury all the dead in trenches as speedily as possible,
on account of the heat; and as far as I knew then, or have reason to
believe now, each officer was buried where he fell, with the men who
surrounded him. It thus occurred that Colonel Shaw,
commanding negroes, was buried with negroes."
These extracts from the
letters of Assistant-Surgeon Luck and General
Hagood are submitted to the reader with the single suggestion
that what is said about Colonel Shaw's body being brought
into Fort Wagner, contained in Captain Hendricks's
letter, should be borne in mind while reading the latter portion of
the extracts from General Hagood's letter.
But how far General Hagood may be held
responsible
[Page 102]
for the lack of generous and Christian offices to the re mains of
Colonel Shaw, his family and comrades, is another matter.
And the writer submits that these faults of omission are grave; that
the acknowledged bravery of Colonel Shaw in life, and
his appearance even in death, when, as General Hagood
acknowledges, "his body was pointed out to me that morning," should
have secured him a fitting sepulture, or the tender of his body to
his friends. This burial of Colonel Shaw,
premeditated and exceptional, was without question intended as an
ignominy. It served to crown the sacrifices of that young
life, so short and eventful, and to place his name high on the roll
of martyrs and leaders of the Civil War.
Colonel Shaw's sword was found during the
war in a house in Virginia, and restored to his family. His
silk sash was purchased in Battery Wagner from a private soldier, by
A. W. Muckenfuss, a Confederate officer, who, many years
after, generously sent it North to Mr. S. D. Gilbert, of
Boston, for restoration to the Shaw family.
Only these two articles have been recovered, so far as known.
No effort was made to find Colonel Shaw's
grave when our forces occupied the ground. This was in
compliance with the request contained in the following letter : —
NEW
YORK, Aug. 24, 1863.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL GILLMORE, Commanding
Department of the South.
SIR, — I take the liberty to address you because I am
in formed that efforts are to be made to recover the body of my son,
Colonel Shaw of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts
Regiment, which was buried at Fort Wagner. My object in
writing is to say that such efforts are not authorized by me or any
of my family, and that they are not approved by us. We hold
that a
[Page 103]
soldier's most appropriate burial-place is on the field where he has
fallen. I shall therefore be much obliged, General, if in case
the matter is brought to your cognizance, you will forbid the
desecration of my son's grave, and prevent the disturbance of his
remains or those buried with him. With most earnest wishes for
your success, I am, sir, with respect and esteem,
Your obedient servant,
FRANCIS GEORGE SHAW.
Captains Russel and
Simpkins were doubtless interred with other white soldiers,
after their bodies had been robbed of all evidences of their rank
during the hours of darkness.
After all firing had ceased, about midnight,
Brig.-Gen. Thomas G. Stevenson, commanding the front lines,
ordered two companies of the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Duer, to advance from the abatis as
skirmishers toward Wagner, followed by four companies of the
Ninety-seventh, without arms, under Captain Price, to rescue
the wounded. General Stevenson saw to this
service personally, and gave special instructions to rescue as many
as possible of the Fifty-fourth, saying, "You know how much harder
they will fare at the hands of the enemy than white men." The
rescuing party, with great gallantry and enterprise, pushed the
search clear up to the slopes of Wagner, crawling along the ground,
and listening for the moans that indicated the subjects of their
mission. When found, the wounded were quietly dragged to
points where they could be taken back on stretchers in safety.
This work was continued until daylight, and many men gathered in by
the Ninety-seventh; among them was Lieutenant Smith of
the Fifty-fourth. It was a noble work fearlessly done.
[Page 104]
Throughout the assault
and succeeding night, Quartermaster Ritchie was active and
efficient in rendering help to the wounded of the regiment and
endeavoring to ascertain the fate of Colonel Shaw and other
officers. Surgeon Stone skilfully aided all
requiring his services, sending the severely wounded men and
officers from temporary hospitals to the steamer "Alice Price."
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