Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s ascension to martyrdom was secured the moment that his father requested that his son’s body remain buried with the Black men in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, who fell alongside him in their failed assault at Battery Wagner on July 18, 1863. “We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers,” his father wrote. “We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies, among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company.”
I only heard about it at the last minute, and by happenstance. I was in Concord for the Thoreau Society Annual Gathering, and found out from a friend at the Gathering, a professor at Middlebury who had grown up in Concord and known the organizer of the event, Joe Palumbo, since high school.
This past weekend, I attended a moving ceremony in Concord, Massachusetts, for George Washington Dugan, a Concord native who volunteered as a private for the 54th, when he was in his mid-40s, and was killed in action at Fort Wagner. His sacrifice had been forgotten by his home town till recently, but last Saturday a cenotaph--an official military headstone--was unveiled for him with full military honors at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Great to hear from you. I was hoping to attend the ceremony, but unfortunately wasn't able to make it. I did have the opportunity to meet up with Marvin Alonzo-Greer on Friday and show him around the historic Black neighborhood on Beacon Hill.
I only heard about it at the last minute, and by happenstance. I was in Concord for the Thoreau Society Annual Gathering, and found out from a friend at the Gathering, a professor at Middlebury who had grown up in Concord and known the organizer of the event, Joe Palumbo, since high school.
This past weekend, I attended a moving ceremony in Concord, Massachusetts, for George Washington Dugan, a Concord native who volunteered as a private for the 54th, when he was in his mid-40s, and was killed in action at Fort Wagner. His sacrifice had been forgotten by his home town till recently, but last Saturday a cenotaph--an official military headstone--was unveiled for him with full military honors at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Hi Dean,
Great to hear from you. I was hoping to attend the ceremony, but unfortunately wasn't able to make it. I did have the opportunity to meet up with Marvin Alonzo-Greer on Friday and show him around the historic Black neighborhood on Beacon Hill.