The 1863 Battle of Fort Wagner was a fairly inconsequential battle of the Civil War in terms of overall tactics and strategy. The Union Army needed to capture the rebel-held fort as part of its overall plan to cut Charleston, South Carolina, off from the rest of the Confederacy. Union forces made multiple frontal assaults, all of which were abject failures. In the end, federal troops would have to lay siege to Fort Wagner with continuous shelling to force the Confederates out.
What stood out for both Union soldiers and American civilians was the performance of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first all-Black infantry units formed for the Union during the war. The 54th charged the walls of the fort during the second battle, on July 18, 1863, taking heavy casualties. Among the 1,515 casualties was the unit commander, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, along with 270 killed, wounded or missing from the 54th alone — a 42% casualty rate. The battle was made famous as the climax of the 1989 film “Glory.”
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Among the survivors of the 54th Massachusetts’ attack on the battery was Sgt. William Harvey Carney, whose actions amid some of the most intense combat of the Civil War would earn him the respect of his fellow troops and the Medal of Honor. His story is the latest depiction in the Association of the United States Army’s graphic novel series, “Medal of Honor.”
William Harvey Carney was born into slavery around 1840 in Virginia, but his family was granted their freedom and moved to Massachusetts. He believed he could best serve God by fighting to end slavery, so he joined the Union Army in March 1863 and was assigned to Company C, 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment. The 54th was sent to South Carolina that same year. It attacked James Island, just outside of Charleston, trying to draw enemy troops away from Fort Wagner, and were commended for their skill in battle.
Tired and hungry from combat on James Island, the 54th was made the vanguard for the assault on Fort Wagner. The approach to the fort was just a narrow strip of sand around 60 yards wide, meaning only one regiment could approach at a time, but the U.S. Colored Troops fought their way across the sandbar, a moat filled with sharpened logs that surrounded the fort, and the guns and troops who defended the fort. They made it all the way to the parapet, but after fierce hand-to-hand fighting, they were pushed back with heavy casualties.
As the 54th charged the fort, the unit’s color guard was shot and killed. Carney watched the man fall and quickly scooped the flag up from a few feet away. Despite being wounded himself, he kept the flag up, continuing the charge toward the battery. It’s no small thing to carry a flag amid a Civil War battle; you have to disregard your own weapon while being at the front of the line where the fighting takes place. Carney did this, planting the flag at the base of Fort Wagner, holding it upright with his near-lifeless body until he could be rescued. Despite Carney losing a lot of blood and facing death, witnesses said the flag never touched the ground. In 1900, Carney received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.
The Association of the United States Army is a nonprofit educational and professional development organization formed to support the Army and U.S. national defense. It regularly produces graphic novels with some of the comic world’s best writers and illustrators, bringing Army Medal of Honor stories to life in rich color and vivid detail. Previous “Medal of Honor” talks have depicted Roy Benavidez, Alwyn Cashe, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, and Alvin York. There are currently seven volumes, each with 2-4 issues.
“Medal of Honor: William Carney” was written by Chuck Dixon (“Batman,” “The Punisher”), illustrated by Wayne Vansant (“The ‘Nam,” “All Quiet on the Western Front”), colored by Peter Pantazis (“Justice League,” “Superman”) and lettered by Troy Peteri (“Spider-Man,” “Iron Man,” “X-Men”).
Each eight-page book is free for digital download at the Association of the United States Army website.
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