Attack on Fort Wagner Engraving   Save
http://www.ohiohistory.org/africanam (for more information on African Americans in Ohio)
Description: This 5.5 by 7.4-inch (13.97 by 18.80 cm) engraving by Thomas Nast shows the 1863 Civil War battle at Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina. Although not a strategically important battle, it is significant because it demonstrated the courage of the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment composed of African Americans. Massachusetts was one of the first states to allow black men to enlist to fight in the Civil War, and so drew volunteers from several states. More than 150 men from Ohio joined the regiment. Company K was composed of 75 men from Xenia. More than half of the men in the 54th died in the battle, including its commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, son of a prominent abolitionist family. Eighteen Ohioans were among the casualties. The 1989 movie Glory dramatizes the history of the regiment. Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was born in Landau, Germany. He emigrated to the United States and became a successful caricaturist, illustrator, and painter. He is best known for his political cartoons and illustrations of Santa Claus. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om872_806480_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; African American Soldiers; Civil War; Campaigns & battles
Places: Xenia (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); Charleston (South Carolina)