The Civil War was a huge turning point in American society. The Union had split and a full on war had been declared on the Confederacy by President Lincoln, who considered these Confederate states to be states in rebellion. One major change in the Union was the creation of the first colored regiment known as the 54th Massachusetts, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. The movie Glory embodies what life was like for the soldiers and the development of their skills and personalities and the bonds between the commanding officers and the soldiers. The men start to learn what being a soldier is like and the movie reveals just how all the men handle every challenge or obstacle that’s thrown at them. The only characters in the movie based on real people …show more content…
They fought extremely well and had around 40 or so deaths among the regiment. After this battle happened, Shaw requested that his troops be the ones to lead the attack on Fort Wagner. Shaw was warned that there would be a high number of casualties, but continued to lead his troops to battle. During this battle, Shaw runs up from one of the trenches and attempts to run towards the Confederate soldiers that were there, but ended up being shot and killed. The majority of the privates of the 54th massachusetts wore very old, torn, raggedy clothing when they arrived and up until the point where they got their uniforms. Their shoes were especially a problem because few had socks and most of the shoes were either old and torn or were ill-fitting and training was very hard and a lot of them had blisters and sores all over their feet. The one inconsistency in this was Shaw’s childhood friend Thomas. Thomas was a black man who was born into freedom, and he was more educated and had nicer clothing than the majority of the other black soldiers. The white soldiers typically were wearing very elegant blue uniforms with ribbons and bows and buttons and just extra decorations in …show more content…
He started to intimidate the other slaves from the moment he got to camp and he was extremely full of himself and just plain rude. He put everyone else down around him and he was very ignorant. Trip didn’t seem to care for Colonel Shaw. Trip didn’t like the food he was getting served nor the shoes that he had so he ran away for something better. When he was caught, Shaw allowed him to be flogged, which only furthered his hatred for Shaw. When the checks came in, he started a full on rebellion and got all the troops to rip up their checks, but I don’t think Trip expected Shaw to rip up his own check. But he did. I believe that’s the moment where Trip started to gain some respect and understanding about what Shaw was doing. I think that Trip believed that he would be no better than he was then but is better than everyone else that’s there, out of the slaves anyway. He thought he was really funny and powerful, when the truth was he was no better than anyone else there. He believed what he believed and anyone who didn’t agree with his ideas was stupid. He believed that he was superior. Trip started to change after the first time the 54th went to battle. He started to get more serious and realized why he had really joined the 54th Massachusetts. He realized that he would need to stick to his fellow soldiers not put them down. He was still a bit of a hothead but it
Nevertheless, an attitude they show is their cause for engaging in the war. On page 110, Lee describes, “With every step of a soldier, with every tick of the clock, the army was gaining safety, closer to victory, closer to the dream of independence.” His words reveal that their reason for coming was to gain their long overdue independence. Without a cause worth fighting for on each side, the war would have no fuel or reason to continue. In like manner, another attitude of the South was their admiration for their commander general. On page 251, Longstreet proclaims, “Colonel, let me explain something. The secret of General Lee is that men love him and follow him with faith in him. That’s one secret.” I believe this clarifies that the bond of brotherhood and respect for each other in this army would allow for these soldiers to follow their leader blindly. The overwhelming amount of faith and trust among the Army of the Northern Virginia is inspiring. The Confederates prove in these appearances that they do indeed have an important cause that they are willing to die
Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be "young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service." (Emilio 1990) Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaw's father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Mass...
The book “For cause and comrades” written by James M McPherson is not one of your typical civil war books. This book is completely different than what everyone would expect, McPherson tries to explain the why of the war behind the scenes of it. He goes into great detail onto how dissects the initial reason of both sides North and South by concentrating not on battlefield tactics and leaders but what emotional and great experiences the men had to face in the battle field.
Thomas, a childhood friend of Shaw’s, is well educated and has not been exposed to the harsh reality of the slavery scene. Shaw envisions the loss he had at Tatum when he trained these men. These men have never experienced man-to-man combat before and are not prepared to handle most situations. Robert enforces all the same regulations that the other regiments go by in the Union. The pride of these black soldiers kept them from accepting the lesser salary offered and they chose for no payment as did their leader Shaw.
...p;The bombardment had lasted thirty-six hours, and over 3,000 shot and shell had been hurled at the fort. The evacuation of the fort took place the following day on April 14, 1861. The fort had been evacuate, not surrendered. Before the evacuation the citizens of Taunton Mass. had voted Maj. Anderson an elegant sword. New York gave him the freedom of the city in a gold box. Finally, on June 6, 1861, the Chamber of Commerce of New York ordered the execution of a series of medals to be presented to Maj. Anderson and to each man of the garrison. (www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-fort-sumter.html)
The Union Army was able to match the intensity of the Confederacy, with the similar practice of dedication until death and patriotism, but for different reasons. The Union soldiers’s lifestyles and families did not surround the war to the extent of the Confederates; yet, their heritage and prosperity relied heavily on it. Union soldiers had to save what their ancestors fought for, democracy. “Our (Union soldiers) Fathers made this country, we, their children are to save it” (McPherson, 29). These soldiers understood that a depleted group of countries rather than one unified one could not flourish; “it is essential that but one Government shall exercise authority from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific” (Ledger, 1861).
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
The First Louisiana Native Guards became the first Black regiment to receive official recognition from the government. The Union brass had initially prevented the Blacks from seeing action in the war. Colonel Robert Shaw and his men of the Massachusetts 54th had to overcome fear, mockery and racism before they were allowed to fight. By the end of 1863, many thousands Blacks found employment in the Union Army. There were some 50, 000 Black soldiers in the ranks. Although Black soldiers were promised $13 a month, they were insulted with an offer of $7 a month. Black soldiers and sailors became indispensable elements in a war that could not have been won without their help. The triumph of the Union forces was due to a number of factors, including Northern technology and the spirit of the age. But the most preeminent factor was the contribution of slaves and freedmen who provided the margin of difference that turned the tide against the Confederate forces in 1864 and 1865. According to official records, there were 185, 000 Black soldiers in the Union Army. Their mortality rate was disproportionately high, 21% of the total number of Black soldiers. Equally visible and heroic were the sailors in the Union Navy. One out of every four Union sailors was black, they served on Union ships as coal heavers, stewards, boatswains, firemen and gunners. In addition the North was forwarded by more than 200,000 civilians, mostly freed slaves. They served as spies and scouts. The most remarkable of all Union spies was a woman named Harriet Tubman.
On Tuesday morning, June 30, an infantry brigade of Confederate soldiers searching for shoes headed toward Gettysburg (The Hi...
The movie Glory is about Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from the fighting in the war and leads the first African American regiment in the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts. The movie focuses on Captain turned Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from battle and training an African American regiment along with his friend Captain Cabot Forbes. The movie focuses on four African Americans, Sargent Rawlins, Thomas Searles, Jupiter Sharts, and Tripp, following their journey into a united division in the US military. The movie begins with Shaw in the Battle of Antietam, where he passed out due to his injuries and wakes up with the conflict over. Afterwards, he returns home in Massachusetts, showing signs that the battle had slightly traumatized him. Shaw meets Frederick Douglass there and is told that he will be the first to lead a colored regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. When he is told of this news, he asks his friend Cabot Forbes to assist him as his second in command. Shaw’s first volunteer for the 54th Mass. is other close friend Thomas Searles. After sending word of a colored regiment, many African Americans sign up, specifically Rawlins, Searles, and Tripp. However, Lincoln sends an order saying that any black person that takes arms in the war would either return to slavery or be put to death. Even though they face the threat of death, none of the soldiers-in-training leave. This scene is important since it demonstrates how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to get their freedom. The soldiers’ training begins and in order to train everyone correctly, Shaw brings in Col. Mulcahy. At this point of the film, some of the scenes can be viewed as Shaw being introduced to racism due to superiorit...
When the British troops arrived in 1768, he was irritated by them because in one such instance, he was cheated by a Sergeant Mark Burk. Burk did not pay for Hewes’ shoes that were allegedly for Captain Thomas Preston; therefore, Hewes was horrified when Burk was sentenced to 350 lashes as punishment. In addition, he witnessed many more cases of soldiers victimizing civilians, thus he felt that he and many laboring men were the main victims of the soldiers’ and British’s brutality. For instance, eleven-year old Christopher Seider was shot when picketing a shop, soldiers and ropewalk workers fought when trying to find work, and the sentry’s abuse of the barber’s apprentice when attempting to collect an overdue bill. As he faced unfairness from the troops and witnessed the victimization of people he knew, he began to take action with others that faced similar issues like him.
These recruiters included Lieutenant J. Appleton, also the first man commissioned in the regiment, whose recruiting efforts included posting a notice in the Boston Journal and holding a recruiting rally held in Joy Street Church and in which speakers Edward L. Pierce and Wendell Phillips encouraged free blacks to enlist for the regiment. This recruitment group was later known as "The Black Committee". The 54th trained at Camp Meigs in Readville near Boston. While there they received considerable moral support from abolitionists in Massachusetts including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Material support included warm clothing items, battle flags and $500 contributed for the equipping and training of a regimental band. As it became evident that many more recruits were coming forward than were needed the medical exam for the 54th was described as "rigid and thorough" by the Massachusetts Surgeon-General. This resulted in what he described as the most "robust, strong and healthy set of men" ever mustered into service in the United States. Despite this, as was common in the Civil War, a few men died of disease prior to the 54th's departure from Camp
It was so sad for him since the four men who were shot in that night by the British military men were not only his Bostonians but Sergeant Caldwell who one of the four was standing just at his side when he was met with the bullet, and it was Hewes who got hold of him as he fell. Being angered by the nightmare, Hewes equipped himself with a cane, but his mission was not to be since he was immediately threatened by Sergeant Chambers who was a member of the 29th British Regiment along with other eight military men who were armed with cutlasses and massive clubs. Sergeant Chambers took away the cane from him, but as Hewes explained in a legal statement, "I told him I had as good a right to carry a cane as they had to carry clubs" – a statement that went on to explain the brutality of the military men who brutalized and killed
For the Union, they were fighting for freedom, to keep the Union alive. Their drive was to keep the United States whole, too free slaves. For the Confederate, their drive was economic power, greed, to keep slavery. Many soldiers in the book would ask one another their Cause, most had one, and surprisingly some didn't. Those soldiers were there to follow orders, be the "good soldier", obey, and fight. Some were just lost, some fought for family, some for honor, some felt it was the right thing to do. General Lee said to General Longstreet, "You and
The movie “Glory” tells the history and the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. It became the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War. The Regiment was made up of black soldiers – some were Northern freemen, some were escaped slaves. The leader was General Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. The men of the 54th Regiment proved themselves worthy of the freedom for which they fighting, and the respect of their fellow white soldiers.