A Testament to an American Soldier
Posted
23rd April 2025
in blog, Blogs & News, People
From 1861 to 1865 the American Civil war raged and has since been described as one of the most destructive wars of all time. It is now estimated that 2% of the population – over 620,000 men – lost their lives in the conflict. One of those men was Robert Gould Shaw. His untimely death moved Elizabeth Gaskell to write to his mother in August 1863, ‘My Dear, Dear Mrs Shaw – You cannot think how our hearts bled for you when we had the sad news…‘
Robert Gould Shaw’s tragic death clearly affected Elizabeth as she later wrote a deeply heartfelt and poignant appreciation of him in Macmillan’s Magazine in December,1863. The Macmillan was an important journal that flourished in the late nineteenth century. The article praised the young man’s bravery and his exceptional dedication to the Union cause.
In 1855, Elizabeth was on a visit to Paris when she met the Shaw family from America. They too were Unitarians: a prominent, wealthy and highly educated family from Staten Island spending time in Europe. Sarah and Frank Shaw and their four daughters welcomed Elizabeth, and she remembers: ‘the large, pleasant suite of rooms looking into the Tuileries gardens.’ Their only son Robert was not home at that time. Elizabeth writes of her regret at not meeting him: ‘I wish I had ever seen him, if only for five minutes – noble hero, true Christian…‘
Robert Gould Shaw was born in 1837 and studied at a prestigious private school and later attended Harvard University. However, he chose not to complete his degree in favour of travelling and seeking other opportunities; at one point, he worked as an accounts clerk for his uncle’s shipping company.
Robert was twenty-four when war broke out in 1861. He enlisted in the 7th New York Militia and was then quickly transferred to the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry where he engaged in several significant battles including the Battle of Antietam. Robert’s leadership skills were soon recognised by his superiors and he was promoted to Captain in August 1862. In 1863 he was asked to take command of one of the first African American units in the Union army – the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
This promotion came with immense responsibility and challenges. At first Robert was hesitant, but took the role understanding its historical significance and the opportunity to make a profound impact. He had read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe several times and like many others, including Elizabeth, was moved by its plot and anti-slavery sentiments.
Robert’s parents too are both committed abolitionists, Elizabeth describes them in her article as being ‘deeply impressed with the sin of slavery.‘ Later in the narrative she describes that Robert is ‘with a brave trustful heart, leaving home, leaving mother, leaving new-made wife, to go forth and live amongst his poor despised men…’ The article is earnest, strongly felt and sincere. Elizabeth paints a picture of a gallant soldier whose regiment, the 54th, gains a fine reputation for discipline and valour: under his leadership, the men train conscientiously. She relates that ‘he was sitting on the ground and talking to his men very familiarly and kindly.‘
Its most famous, yet tragic engagement occurred on 18 July 1863, when, during the assault on Fort Wagner, a Confederate stronghold near Charleston, South Carolina. Robert led his men in a courageous but ultimately doomed attack. The regiment suffered heavy losses and Robert Gould Shaw was killed in action. He was twenty-five. In the Macmillan article, Elizabeth describes his final minutes in detail: ‘Colonel Shaw sprang forward and waving his sword, cried, “Forward, my brave boys.”‘ She reports that his body along with twenty of his men was later found in a shallow grave.
The enduring legacy of Robert Gould Shaw’s life and death has been honoured and commemorated in many ways, through statues, monuments, letters, poems, artwork, and music. In1990, a film Glory was released, recounts the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment with Matthew Broderick, Denzil Washington and Morgan Freeman in the leading roles. In 2004, the Irish writer Colm Toibin’s novel The Master was published. The novel is mainly about the writer Henry James, but also tells the story of his younger brother Wilkie James and his participation as an officer in the 54th.
It must have been heartening for Elizabeth to know her informative article about Robert in the Macmillan journal was widely read. In a letter in 1864, Elizabeth gladly consents: ‘to your request that a friend of yours may translate into German my little article of Colonel Shaw in Macmillan.‘
But it is the letter to Mrs Shaw which is so poignant particularly when Elizabeth writes: ‘but O! dear friend, I know what it is to lose a child, and I do feel for you.’ Elizabeth still mourns the loss of her baby son, Willie, and the anguish she still feels is clear. Her letter ends with: ‘Dear Mrs Shaw, goodbye! God be with you, as he was, when he strengthened you to give up your child to his Service!‘
Blog by Diana Ashcroft, volunteer at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
