AchievementJuly 18, 1863· arts
54th Massachusetts Infantry Storms Fort Wagner
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first official Black regiments in the Union Army, led a courageous assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Though the assault failed and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was killed, the regiment's bravery demolished arguments that Black men would not fight, galvanizing recruitment of Black soldiers across the Union.