Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was an important act ,the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by president Abraham Licoln , allowing the freedom of all in the rebelling territories of the confederacy and allowing Blacks enlistment in the Union Army. Since the beginning of the Civil War, free Black people in general, were ready to fight on behalf of the Union, yet they were prevented from doing so. Popular racial stereotypes and discrimination against Blacks in the military contributed to the prevailing myth that Black men did not have the intelligence and bravery necessary to serve their country. By 1862, there was limited amount of White Union enlistment and confederate victories at Antietam forced the U.S. government …show more content…
When they arrived in the south, the Black soldiers were often treated as common laborers and the potential for their heroic acts on the battlefield was disregarded. Upon arriving in Georgia on June 11, they were ordered by Col. James Montgomery of the Department of the South to raid the town of Darien. Reports of Black soldiers burning buildings and ravaging the homes of townspeople confirmed stereotypes of Black soldiers as un-trainable brutes. Col. Shaw found the raid on Darien barbarous and distasteful, and sent a letter to Brigadier General George C. Strong, requesting that the men be used in the planned attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. (Quarles …show more content…
This battle redeemed the Black soldiers' fighting ability in the eyes of White skeptics, including General Strong, who commanded the 54th Regiment to lead the assault on Fort Wagner, scheduled for July 18. Strategically, a successful attack on Fort Wagner would allow Union forces to seize control of Charleston Harbor. Located on Morris Island, Fort Wagner protected Battery Gregg overlooking Fort Sumter. This means that capturing Fort Wagner was valuable because it enabled the Union to shell Sumter and close the harbor to confederate blockade runners. This would pave the way for further Union attack on Charleston. Fort Wagner was located at the northern tip of Morris Island, was controlled by troops and artillery guns, and was surrounded by water, marsh, and moats that were up to 3 feet deep(Glathaar 1990). The 54th Regiment arrived on Morris Island after marching for two days from James Island. Depleted to just over 600 men by the skirmish two days previous, the men of the 54th Regiment were ordered to lead the assault on Fort Wagner with the backing of regiments from New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Before the charge commenced, Colonel Shaw ordered the regiment to "prove yourselves as men." Within 200 feet of the Fort, the confederates began to attack as the brave men of the 54th Regiment struggled through darkness, four-foot deep
The Emancipation Proclamation was an important act ,the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by president Abraham Licoln , allowing the freedom of all in the rebelling territories of the confederacy and allowing Blacks enlistment in the Union Army. Since the beginning of the Civil War, free Black people in general, were ready to fight on behalf of the Union, yet they were prevented from doing so. Popular racial stereotypes and discrimination against Blacks in the military contributed to the prevailing myth that Black men did not have the intelligence and bravery necessary to serve their country. By 1862, there was limited amount of White Union enlistment and confederate victories at Antietam forced the U.S. government …show more content…
When they arrived in the south, the Black soldiers were often treated as common laborers and the potential for their heroic acts on the battlefield was disregarded. Upon arriving in Georgia on June 11, they were ordered by Col. James Montgomery of the Department of the South to raid the town of Darien. Reports of Black soldiers burning buildings and ravaging the homes of townspeople confirmed stereotypes of Black soldiers as un-trainable brutes. Col. Shaw found the raid on Darien barbarous and distasteful, and sent a letter to Brigadier General George C. Strong, requesting that the men be used in the planned attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. (Quarles …show more content…
This battle redeemed the Black soldiers' fighting ability in the eyes of White skeptics, including General Strong, who commanded the 54th Regiment to lead the assault on Fort Wagner, scheduled for July 18. Strategically, a successful attack on Fort Wagner would allow Union forces to seize control of Charleston Harbor. Located on Morris Island, Fort Wagner protected Battery Gregg overlooking Fort Sumter. This means that capturing Fort Wagner was valuable because it enabled the Union to shell Sumter and close the harbor to confederate blockade runners. This would pave the way for further Union attack on Charleston. Fort Wagner was located at the northern tip of Morris Island, was controlled by troops and artillery guns, and was surrounded by water, marsh, and moats that were up to 3 feet deep(Glathaar 1990). The 54th Regiment arrived on Morris Island after marching for two days from James Island. Depleted to just over 600 men by the skirmish two days previous, the men of the 54th Regiment were ordered to lead the assault on Fort Wagner with the backing of regiments from New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Before the charge commenced, Colonel Shaw ordered the regiment to "prove yourselves as men." Within 200 feet of the Fort, the confederates began to attack as the brave men of the 54th Regiment struggled through darkness, four-foot deep