Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw ( born October 10, 1837 in Boston, Massachusetts, † July 18, 1863 at Fort Wagner, South Carolina ) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Biography
Childhood and youth
He was the second child and only son of the rich Abolitionistenfamilie of Francis George and Sarah Blake ( Sturgis ) Shaw. Even in his earliest youth was Shaw by the influential contacts his father with the circle around Ralph Waldo Emerson in contact, the transcendentalists. He was also educated in the spirit of Christianity and abolitionism. The young Shaw was sent by his parents to Europe to the local culture and languages meet, among others, he attended boarding school in Switzerland, where he studied mathematics, different languages and practiced on the instruments violin and piano.
Military career
After his return from Europe and studying at Harvard, he enlisted in 1860 volunteered for the 7th New York National Guard, a regiment, which belonged only sons of rich and influential circles of New York, and lived in this regiment the outbreak of the American Civil War. On May 10, 1861 Shaw accepted the offer to serve Infantry Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Massachusetts. In the battle of Front Royal on May 23, 1862, he received his baptism of fire. On 9 August 1862, the regiment during the Battle of Cedar Mountain suffered heavy losses, on 17 September of the same year, Shaw was now a captain in his regiment, it suffered another heavy losses at the Battle of Antietam, where he stood at the forefront.
After Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Battle of Antietam, the demand was loud, establish regiments with black soldiers. Frederick Douglass sat down in Massachusetts in Governor John Albion Andrew for this one. It was decided to form the 54th Infantry Regiment only of black recruits. Shaw got the offer to establish this regiment as its Colonel and to command. After initial hesitation and doubts he finally accepted the offer. After training his regiment it was the Department of the South, transferred to Shaw by Major General David Hunter, commander of his headquarters to Hilton Head, South Carolina, ordered and there to the 2nd South Carolina Infantry, also a black regiment led by Colonel James Montgomery. Along with Montgomery Shaw took part in an expedition along the coast of Georgia. In the course of this expedition burned Shaw's regiment the undefended and almost deserted town of Darien down on command Montgomery. As a result of this incident, Major General Hunter was replaced by General Quincy Adams Gillmore and Shaw 's brigade of General George Crockett Strong allocated to the Morris Iceland off Charleston, South Carolina, had his headquarters. Strong had the task of an attack on Fort Wagner, a Confederate fortifications in Charleston harbor perform.
Shaw recognized the opportunity to harvest an attack was successful with his regiment fame and recognition for the oppressed and ill- treated black troops, and told to lead the attack, which meant huge losses for his regiment. On the evening of July 18, 1863, the regiment joined the assault on Fort Wagner. No sooner had the soldiers leave the protection of their coverage, they have also been under fire, but reached the earthworks and were even able to get in. Shaw fell in the attack on one of the earthworks at Fort Wagner. His regiment was eventually pushed back, and the attack failed.
Funeral
Shaw's body was buried along with his men by the Confederates in a mass grave. While a ceasefire asked officers of the Union to include the delivery of the corpse, whereupon the Confederates answered. " We have buried him with his niggers " ( German: " We buried him with his niggers. " ) These words called on the Union side outrage out and were even processed in numerous poems.
As Shaw's father was offered by the Union to find the body of his son and to bed, he replied in a letter: ". We hold did a soldier's most Appropriate burial - place is on the field where he has fallen " ( German: "We are of the view that the most appropriate burial for a soldier is the field where he has fallen. " )
Reception
The fate of the regiment and Shaw is described in detail in the movie " Glory". He is represented in this film by Matthew Broderick.