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Catalog Data

Artist:
Currier & Ives Lithography Company, active 1857 - 1907  Search this
Sitter:
Robert Gould Shaw, 10 Oct 1837 - 18 Jul 1863  Search this
Medium:
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Dimensions:
Image: 22.6 × 31.5 cm (8 7/8 × 12 3/8")
Sheet: 32.3 × 40.7 cm (12 11/16 × 16")
Type:
Print
Date:
1863
Exhibition Label:
On July 18, 1863, Col. Robert Gould Shaw led the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment in a fierce but ultimately disastrous attack on Fort Wagner, a beachhead near Charleston, South Carolina. The scion of a prominent abolitionist family, Shaw had been handpicked to command the regiment, which was the first in the Union Army to be manned entirely by black soldiers. Shaw recognized the capability of his troops and championed their right to receive the same wages as their white counterparts. Although the regiment suffered heavy casualties, including the death of Shaw himself (shown atop a parapet, recoiling from a fatal wound), their “gallant charge” became legendary for its display of military mettle and patriotic spirit. Indeed, the flag-bearing soldier behind Shaw recalls the courageous actions of William Harvey Carney, who rescued the American flag during the heated battle and who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1990.
El 18 de julio de 1863, el coronel Robert Gould Shaw lideró al 54o Regimiento Voluntario de Infantería de Massachusetts en un ataque feroz pero finalmente desastroso al Fuerte Wagner, un puesto de playa cerca de Charleston, Carolina del Norte. Miembro de una prominente familia abolicionista, Shaw había sido escogido expresamente para comandar dicho regimiento, el primero en el Ejército de la Unión compuesto en su totalidad de soldados negros. Shaw reconocía la aptitud de su tropa y luchó por su derecho a recibir el mismo salario que sus compañeros blancos. Aunque el regimiento sufrió serias bajas, incluso la muerte del mismo Shaw (mostrado en la pintura sobre un parapeto, recibiendo la herida fatal), su “valiente ataque” se hizo legendario por el despliegue de temple militar y espíritu patriótico. En efecto, el soldado abanderado que se ve detrás de Shaw recuerda la acción heroica de William Harvey Carney, quien rescató la bandera estadounidense durante la encarnizada batalla, por lo cual se le otorgó la Medalla de Honor póstumamente en 1990.
Topic:
Costume\Headgear\Hat  Search this
Exterior  Search this
Weapon\Gun\Rifle  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Glove\Gloves  Search this
Weapon\Sword  Search this
Exterior\Landscape\Battleground  Search this
Symbols & Motifs\Flag  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Sash  Search this
Commemorative  Search this
Robert Gould Shaw: Male  Search this
Robert Gould Shaw: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Colonel  Search this
Robert Gould Shaw: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War\Union Army  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.2016.104
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition:
One Life: Frederick Douglass
On View:
NPG, North Gallery 230a
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm466dab120-bcfc-4037-b1a3-77b55744f568
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2016.104