The Gallant Charge of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.2016.104
Tags
CommemorativeGlovesSashHatExteriorBattlegroundPortraitRobert Gould Shaw: MaleUnion ArmyColonel
About this artwork
On July 18, 1863, Col. Robert Gould Shaw led the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment in a fierce but ultimately disastrous attack on Fort Wagner, a beachhead near Charleston, South Carolina. The scion of a prominent abolitionist family, Shaw had been handpicked to command the regiment, which was the first in the Union Army to be manned entirely by black soldiers. Shaw recognized the capability of his troops and championed their right to receive the same wages as their white co...