Second Battle of Fort Wagner (1863): The 54th Massachusetts

The Second Battle of Fort Wagner was a Union assault on a Confederate earthwork on Morris Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, on 18 July 1863. It was led by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first Black regiments raised in the North, under Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. The attack failed, but it became a turning point in how Northerners viewed Black soldiers.

Background

Charleston was a symbol of secession: the war had begun there with the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. In 1863 Union commanders tried to take the harbour defences. Fort Wagner, often called Battery Wagner, was a large sand-and-earth fort that blocked the narrow northern end of Morris Island.

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863 opened the Union army to Black men on a large scale. Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew raised the 54th Massachusetts and chose Robert Gould Shaw, the 25-year-old son of wealthy abolitionists, as its colonel. Its recruits came from across the North and included two sons of Frederick Douglass, Lewis and Charles.

Black soldiers faced extra dangers and insults. The Confederacy threatened to enslave or execute captured Black soldiers and their white officers, and the Union initially paid Black privates less than white ones. The men of the 54th refused any pay for over a year in protest until Congress granted equal pay in 1864.

What happened

On 10 July 1863 Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore landed on the southern end of Morris Island and quickly overran its lighter defences, but they were stopped in front of Fort Wagner. A first Union attack on the fort on 11 July was beaten back. The 54th had seen its first action on James Island on 16 July and then marched through the night to join the second attempt. On 18 July Union land batteries and warships bombarded the fort for most of the day, but the sand walls absorbed the shells and the garrison, about 1,600–1,800 men under Brigadier General William B. Taliaferro, sheltered in a bombproof.

At dusk the 54th Massachusetts, about 600 strong, led the attack of Truman Seymour’s division. The regiment advanced along a narrow strip of beach between the sea and a marsh, under rifle and cannon fire. Some men reached the parapet and fought hand to hand. Shaw was killed on the wall.

Other regiments followed in waves and briefly held part of the fort, but without support they were driven out. Brigade commanders George C. Strong and Haldimand S. Putnam were mortally wounded and killed respectively.

Sergeant William H. Carney took up the regimental flag when its bearer fell and, though shot several times, brought it back to Union lines. He is widely reported to have told his comrades that the old flag never touched the ground.

Casualties

Figures vary slightly between sources.

Key people

• Robert Gould Shaw – colonel of the 54th, killed leading the assault and buried with his men.
• William H. Carney – sergeant who saved the regiment’s flag; later awarded the Medal of Honor.
• Quincy A. Gillmore – Union general commanding the operations against Charleston.
• Truman Seymour – commander of the Union assaulting division, wounded in the attack.
• William B. Taliaferro – Confederate commander of the fort’s garrison.

Consequences

Militarily the assault was a costly failure. The Union settled into a siege, digging trenches ever closer, and on the night of 6–7 September 1863 the Confederates abandoned Fort Wagner. Charleston itself held out until February 1865.

Politically, the effect was large. Newspapers across the North praised the 54th, and the battle helped silence claims that Black men would not fight. Coming just days after the New York City Draft Riots, it also highlighted the contrast between Black soldiers dying for the Union and mobs attacking Black civilians. By the end of the war about 180,000 Black men had served in the Union army.

Legacy

The Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens was dedicated on Boston Common in 1897. Carney received his Medal of Honor in 1900. The story reached a wide modern audience through the 1989 film Glory. The site of Fort Wagner itself has since been washed away by the sea.

Timeline

• 1863, 1 January: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect, opening the army to Black recruits.
• 1863, 28 May: The 54th Massachusetts parades through Boston before leaving for South Carolina.
• 1863, 11 July: First Union assault on Fort Wagner fails.
• 1863, 18 July: Second assault, led by the 54th Massachusetts; Shaw is killed.
• 1863, 6–7 September: Confederates evacuate Fort Wagner.
• 1897, 31 May: The Shaw Memorial is unveiled in Boston.
• 1900, 23 May: William H. Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor.

Why it matters

Fort Wagner was a defeat on the battlefield but a victory in public opinion. It showed that Black soldiers would fight and die for the Union, strengthening the case for their enlistment and, ultimately, for their citizenship.