Open Thread Wednesday: Does It Matter How Robert Gould Shaw Died in Battle?

There are few deaths in the Civil War that are more deeply ingrained in our collective memory of the Civil War or have received more attention in popular culture than that of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who fell in battle while leading his men in a desperate attack against Battery Wagner on July 18, 1863.

The most obvious example is the movie GLORY (1989) in which Shaw—played by Matthew Broderick—picks up the colors and urges his men forward shouting “Come on, Fifty-fourth” before he is cut down.

A number of lithographs, dating to the turn of the twentieth century, also captured Shaw in his final moment alongside his men, Kurz & Allison’s print “Storming Fort Wagner” being the most popular of the lot.

The image is embedded in our collective memory, but what if Shaw wasn’t killed by rifle file?