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17 mar 2011 · Posted March 29, 2011 by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw in Official Record Correspondence pertaining to Shaw's movements and outside events, The Letters: 1861-1863 WOODSTOCK, VA., April 6, 1862. Department of War an immediate and full statement of the forces, position, and condition of the Fifth Army Corps.
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. Most were written during the Civil War, though some to his parents are from his pre-war days when he traveled in Europe and was a student at Harvard.
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.
On 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 54th Massachusetts Infantry marching alongside their young white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.
Robert Shaw writes to his father, Francis, of the need of his help in the formation of the first black regiment [the 54th Massachusetts]. He mentions that the regimental committee has hired a black man, W. Wells, who will help to enlist men and will call upon Francis.
