CURRIER & IVES.
The Gallant Charge of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment. On the Rebel works at Fort Wagner, Morris Island near Charleston, July 18th, 1863 and Death of Colonel Robt. G. Shaw.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN TROOPS IN THE CIVIL WAR
A dramatic, hand-coloured depiction of the first major battle in the Civil War to involve African-American troops: the attempted storming of a Confederate fort near Charleston, South Carolina on July 18, 1863.
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was killed along with fifteen other officers and nearly 300 of his men of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. This dynamic scene shows the meeting of Union and Confederate infantry lines at Fort Wagner, with close contact combat between several of the soldiers, some with bayonets drawn. A Union officer, likely representing Shaw, stands atop a hill at the middle of the scene, sword held high, the American flag waving boldly next to him reading “54th MASS.,” appearing to have just taken a fatal bullet, as his head is snapped back and he is clutching at his throat. At bottom left, an African-American soldier fights hand-to-hand with a Confederate who is trying to knife him. The lively blue colouring of the 54th’s uniforms set against the drab gray of the Confederates provides a stark contrast, as does the dichotomy of the American flag set against the Confederate “Southern Cross.”
This Currier & Ives print provides a dramatic and energetic portrayal of this important historical moment, and the sacrifice of African-American troops and their leaders in the Union cause.
Currier and Ives: Catalogue Raisonné, 2393; Peters, 836.
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