Nearly two months after the African American 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment unsuccessfully but heroically attacked the Confederate’s Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, the rebels — following constant bombardment for weeks on end that has damaged the fort, in the face of low provisions, and due to the decomposing bodies of dead Union soldiers…
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, fighting heroically less than two weeks ago during the failed assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, demonstrated the will and determination of African soldiers to engage Confederate forces despite the threat of execution if captured by the rebels. Many, perhaps most, of the soldiers of the 54th were or are…
Fort Wagner stands on Morris Island, guarding the approach to Charleston. Early this morning fresh federal troops land on the island, sizing up the fort. The only approach to the beach fort is over a narrow strip of sand bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and swamp marshland on the other. Prospects are…