The Assault of Fort Wagner (American Civil War)

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and 272 of his troops are killed in an assault on Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina. Shaw was commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, it is perhaps the most famous regiment of
African American troops during the war.
Shaw and his 54th Massachusetts were chosen to lead the attack of July 18. Shaw was the scion of an abolitionist family and a veteran of the 1862 Shenandoah Valley and Antietam campaigns. Union artillery battered Fort Wagner all day on July 18, but the barrage did little damage to the fort and its garrison.

At 7:45 p.m., the attack commenced. The African-American troops had to march 1,200 yards down the beach to the stronghold, facing a hail of bullets from the Confederates. The Union regiments penetrated the walls at two points but did not have sufficient numbers to take the fort. Over 1,500 Union troops fell and 222 were Captured by the Confederates.
Despite the failure, the battle proved that African American forces could not only hold their own but also excel in battle.

  aaa99

Woah cool!

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