Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry

『Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry』
Russell Duncan（historian）
Univ of Georgia Pr（1999）

　　I'm interested in the Civil War, so I read "Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry ".
　　Robert Gould Shaw was a colonel in the Civil War who lead the 54th Massachusetts infantry, the famous black regiment from the movie "Glory".
　　Shaw was of short stature and gentle appearance, some even said "girlish". He shaved his beard and dressed as a woman at fancy-ball, but no one noticed until he spoke.
　　Shaw grew up in a female-dominated family but he had a masculine character. So the 54th Massachusetts infantry which Shaw lead had the most strict discipline of that time.
　　Before he commanded the black regiment, he fought in the battlefield and was shot at twice. At Front Royal, a bullet hit his pocket-watch on his chest, so he survived. It seemed like a movie scene.
　　Since Shaw grew up in a abolitionist family, the government asked him to command the black regiment. He hesitated at first, but then he accepted. At that time, he was twenty-five. I thought it was an impressive sight because a little, noble, young and beautiful white colonel commanded several hundred black soldiers.
　　Shaw's last fight was at Fort Wagner. He fought in the frontlines. When he was shot, he waved his sword and shouted "Forward, 54th Forward!"
　　Shaw understood he would die at the Wagner fortress. He wrote to his wife, "I might die happy, but it cannot be. I do not believe I will live through our next fight.
　　He willingly gave his life for the cause, and showed that black and white were equal on the battlefield.
　　Shaw's mother taught him "liberty is better than life." I think it's typical of Americans. It might be the motivational power to the help that U.S. lead the world.
　　His body was buried with his black soldiers by the confederate army as an insult to him, but Shaw's father answered that it was a glory for him to be buried with his brave soldiers. And now his body is left untouched.

（Lang-8's friends, thank you for your cooperation!）
（死と栄光が出会う場所: ロバート・グールド・ショー大佐と第54マサチューセッツ歩兵連隊）

タグ：Russell Duncan