Search results
While the whereabouts of Shaw's original letters to his wife are unknown, most of his letters to the rest of his family are held by Harvard University's Houghton Library.
Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As Colonel, he commanded the all-black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The 54th was created under the order of Massachusetts Governor John Andrew in 1863.
The bulk of the collection consists of letters by Robert Gould Shaw to his family, including 98 letters to his mother, 31 to his father, and some to his sisters and brothers-in-law.
A letter from Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to the Adjutant General of Massachusetts written on April 27, 1863. The letter suggests that the recruiting center for the Massachusetts 54th infantry regiment in Springfield Massachusetts should be closed.
When Federal war aims shifted from an emphasis on restoring the Union to the higher goal of emancipation for four million slaves, Shaw's mother pressured her son into accepting the command of the North's vanguard black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts.
8 maj 2019 · The most remarkable item in the collection is the officer’s sword carried by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 54 th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment – the first Northern regiment composed of free black volunteers. One hundred fifty-four years ago, Shaw carried the weapon during the failed assault on Fort Wagner, Morris Island, South Carolina.
XML. pOn the Boston Common stands one of the great Civil War memorials, a magnificent bronze sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It depicts the black soldiers of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry marching alongside their young white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.
