Program Information

During the Civil War, the south was not the only region of warring America where blacks faced a struggle to overcome racism. In the north, they fought for the right to fight.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: For 400 years service men and women have fought to carve out and defend freedom and the civilization we know as America. This series on A Moment in Time is devoted to the memory of those warriors, whose sacrifice represents, in the words of Lincoln at Gettysburg, the last full measure.

Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: During the Civil War, the south was not the only region of warring America where blacks faced a struggle to overcome racism. In the north, they fought for the right to fight. In the early days of the Civil War, African Americans in the north and in areas liberated by Union armies were not allowed to fight for the Federal cause. When a group of blacks tried to form a local militia in Cincinnati they were told, “we want you damned niggers to keep out of this, this is a white man’s war.” The vast majority of northerners were just as bigoted, just as prejudiced as southerners.

Yet, slowly this began to change and many prejudiced white minds would be changed by what happened on the deadly slopes of Battery Wagner. While some Union commanders had already been using freed blacks in a limited capacity, their real opportunity came in early 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the Conscription Act. Massachusetts Governor James A. Andrews, an ardent abolitionist, convinced Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton that blacks should be given a chance to fight and issued a national call for volunteers.

Led by activist Frederick Douglass, who contributed time and energy as well as two sons to the regiment, the ranks of the 54th gradually filled. They were led by a white man, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who turned down the Governor’s offer at first but later accepted and was glad he did. The filled out Massachusetts 54th embarked on the troop transport De Molay cheered by enthusiastic crowds and joined the effort to invest the port of Charleston, South Carolina on June 3, 1863.

At first the blacks were used in a support capacity but Shaw finally convinced General George Strong to give the regiment its chance. On July 18th they led the assault at Battery Wagner on Morris Island, the linchpin of the Charleston defense system. Unfortunately, the Confederates had cracked the Union code and despite an enormous artillery barrage from blockading Federal ships, the rebels were fresh and ready. As Shaw led his troops up the sloping sides of Battery Wagner they were butchered by heavy rifle and cannon fire. He was killed in the action, but the bravery and tenacity of the black troops, even though thrown back, went a long way toward putting to rest the idea that an African American unit could not fight and hold its own with comparably trained, equipped and supported white troops.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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