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Article Directory :: Politics & Government Articles
Assault on Fort Wagner Earned Respect for Black Soldiers in Glory Lets U.S. Root for Abolition
The movie Glory received widespread popular and critical acclaim. The 1989 film depicts the Union assault on Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863, during the U.S. Civil War. It pays particular attention to the valiant efforts of the all-black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. Countless examinations of the veracity of the film's portrayal are available on the internet, so an extended discussion of this question is unnecessary. However, it is interesting to consider some of the possible reasons why this particular movie has been called one of the "best American war movies," and why it received so much public applause.
Truthfully, there was a 54th Massachusetts and it did play an important role in capturing Fort Wagner and Charleston Harbor by leading the frontal charge on the fort that resulted in an incredible casualty rate for the regiment. Sergeant Carney did hold up and protect the regiment's flag despite suffering many serious wounds, an act that earned him the Medal of Honor. But many of the details, including the time of day of said charge, the lack of artillery fire, and the companionship that the movie develops between four soldiers through training camp before the assault, were all inaccurate, either deliberately for the sake of the movie's commercial success or because making everything closely adhere to the history based on accounts can cost more than it is worth. However, the essential component of the story, that a regiment of some 600 African American soldiers fought, many to the death, for the right of all men to be free, was true.
This simple story seems to play a large role in why viewers connected with this film so completely. Popular misconception holds that President Abraham Lincoln began the war with the succeeded states in order to eradicate slavery. Though this oversimplification misses several important nuances, it is understandable that we as citizens of the United States would want to identify with a history that prioritizes eradicating slavery. The duration of slavery in the United States and the continued difficulty that our country has with racial and economic inequality as a result are for many people a matter of deep-seated, almost subconscious shame.
We rightly view the condition enslaving humans as an abomination and act of inhumanity, and wish to identify with anything that pays homage to efforts to end slavery, such as the glorification of the 54th Massachusetts. So when widely loved actors Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, supported by Andre Braugher and Jihmi Kennedy, portrayed their characters in the regiment as admirable soldiers that we want to both empathize with and respect for their heroism, it is no wonder viewers flocked to praise the film. It tugged on our heartstrings and played to several national scars that are still open wounds.
Interestingly, the real importance of the role that the 54th played in the assault on Fort Wagner was that after this moment, commanders across the Union lost their reticence to trust and rely on black brigades. Up to that point, neither the North nor the South made any real effort to take advantage of the mammoth resource that each side had in their black populations. Though the South hung onto the foolish belief that black soldiers would be too inferior to be helpful, African American soldiers went on to significantly bolster Northern armies. President Lincoln went as far as to say that black soldiers won the war for the Union. Of course, the movie Glory needs make no mention of these facts to earn our interest and praise. Even knowing all this, it is difficult to do anything else than cheer for the 54th while watching the film.
The assault of Fort Wagner was a historical turning point for black soldiers during the Civil War as depicted in the movie "Glory". For more information of Civil War battles, visit CivilWar.org.
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