Here’s a fascinating Daniel Island tie in to Civil War history….courtesy, not surprisingly, via Beth Bush.
You’ve probably heard of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment….one of the first units of Black soldiers to fight for the Union in the Civil War. They’re the unit fighting at local Fort Wagner and featured in the movie Glory. That battle took place today, August 18 in 1863!
The 54th was one of the units that became known as the USCI (United States Colored Infantry). And two members of the USCI are buried here on Daniel Island!
Quote from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/united-states-colored-troops
“United States Colored Troops (USCT) were the embodiment of Frederick Douglass’s belief that ‘he who would be free must himself strike the blow.’ 179,000 men – many who were former slaves – volunteered to fight in the Union army; nearly 37,000 gave their lives for the cause. With every engagement they fought in, the USCT time and again proved their mettle. At Port Hudson in Louisiana, Fort Wagner in South Carolina, Spotsylvania, New Market Heights and Wilson’s Wharf in Virginia, and elsewhere, USCT units displayed courage under fire and won glory on the field of battle. By the end of the war, African-Americans accounted for 10 percent of the Union army. The USCT were a watershed in American history, and one of the first major strides toward equal civil rights.”
For more on the Battle of Fort Wagner, check out this terrific column by historian Heather Cox Richardson…
“On July 18, 1863, at dusk, the Black soldiers of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry of the U.S. Army charged the walls of Fort Wagner, a fortification on Morris Island off Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Because Fort Wagner covered the southern entrance to the harbor, it was key to enabling the U.S. government to take the city.
The 600 soldiers of the 54th made up one of the first Black regiments for the Union, organized after the Emancipation Proclamation called for the enlistment of Black American soldiers. The 54th’s leader was a Boston abolitionist from a leading family: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.” To read the entire Richardson newsletter CLICK HERE
To learn more about Daniel Island’s cemeteries and the history they hold CLICK HERE.