Robert G Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 10, 1837. His mother was twenty-two years old and his father was twenty-eight years old. Shaw was the second and only son of Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw and Francis George Shaw, both strong abolitionists. Shaw had a very prominent upbringing. He grew familiar with nannies, housekeepers, and servants to children of his social standing. Shaw played with his older sister Anna, and his younger sisters, Susanna, Josephine, and Ellen, in the homes of his many uncles and aunts. Although the Shaws were socially conscious, they were also deeply devoted to the pursuit of intellect and spirit. Friends in their circle included thinkers, writers, and reformers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Shaw began to develop an understanding of abolitionism; however, at this young age he did not yet fully embrace his parents' philosophies on life. Education held a high place in his parents' understanding of "individual perfection and in the attainments necessary to mail heirs"(Duncan 3). The Shaws lived at residences on the East Coast and overseas in Europe. Robert Briefly attended a preparatory school in New York,
Of the 600 men who were with Shaw, 281 were killed, wounded, missing, or taken prisoner. The fort was never taken and on July 19, a truce was declared. Shaw's body was stripped and thrown into a ditch with his soldiers, contrary to the ceremonial burials usually provided for officers. Northern newspapers reported on the trench burial, and an offer was made to Shaw's parents to have their son's body exhumed. They rejected the offer, believing that their son would have wanted to be buried with his soldiers. His parents further wrote that they were pleased and could hope for "no holier place"(Duncan 119) for Shaw to be. egiment. Shaw supported the idea of blacks in the military, but he had never really encountered any of them before. His connections with African Americans had been more theoretical than actual up until now. nourished and furnished with supplies. Following the Federal victory in the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln had declared a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. By the end of January 1863, Lincoln authorized Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to allow black men to enlist in volunteer regiments. Though the idea of arming black men was controversial and unpopular among many white soldiers and citizens, this move found great favor amongst the abolitionists with whom the topic already had been discussed. Pro-abolitionist Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts executed his plan to form a black volunteer regiment. Recruitment for the Fifty-fourth began in February 1863. " 'It will be the first Colored Regiment to be raised in the free states,' wrote Andrew to Robert Gould Shaw's father. 'Its success or failure will go far to elevate or depress the estimation in which the character of the colored Americans will be held throughout the world'."(McPherson 73). For officers, Andrew wanted "young men of military ! In 1860, after Abraham Lincoln became President and the Southern states seceded from the Union, Shaw enlisted with the Seventh New York National Guard. He became a lieutenant and marched with the regiment to defend Washington in April of 1861. The unit disbanded after 30 days. On May 10, 1861, Shaw left the Seventh New York Regiment and joined the Second Massachusetts Infantry as First Lieutenant. As and officer he was able to attend elegant parties, eat and sleep well. Yet he also yearned for action on the battlefield. The Second engaged in battle during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and the Northern Virginia Campaign. During his less than two years of service in the Second Infantry, he rose to the rank of captain. The regiment suffered terrible losses at the Battle of Antietam. Shaw received a minor wound but felt the excitement of battle as never before. Unable to forget the past, "Shaw often retraced the events that took place there...he located places where his co! The regiment then went to Morris Island; Fort Wager stood at the northern end. Fort Wagner was a large earth and sandbag fortification. The garrison was massive, seeming invincible because it was armed with large artillery and was approachable only along a narrow strip of shore. On July 17 and July 18, the Union navy shelled For Wager from the sea while the men of the 54th regiment traversed from James Island to Cole's and then Folly Island towards Morris Island. They traveled for a night and a day walking on planks in the mud flats and boarding transport boats from the edge of one island to the other. While his men made the two-hour march up Morris Island, Shaw rode ahead and reported to General Strong's headquarters. Strong t
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Approximate Word count = 2417
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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