Robert Gould Shaw

Robert Gould Shaw


Colonel Robert Gould Shaw

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was one of the most significant figures in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, as he led it, and ultimately died for it. His parents, Francis Shaw, and Sarah Sturgis Shaw were white aristocrats in Boston society who taught racial tolerance to their children. His family was exceptionally rich, worth over $30 million in today’s money but consisted of many influential abolitionists. Col. Shaw was born in 1837 and educated in private schools in New York and Switzerland, then was taught by tutors in Italy and Germany. He left Harvard at the end of his junior year to work at his uncle’s mercantile firm in New York City.

In 1861, Shaw was still working at the firm. Meanwhile, conflict between the North and South began to escalate. Newly elected President Lincoln tentatively favored the abolition of slavery. The Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861 and Shaw decided to serve his country by enlisting. He served as a private in the Seventh New York National Guard. Shaw’s contract with the regiment was a 30-day term, so he was reassigned to the 2nd Regiment of Massachusetts as a second lieutenant. It was during this time that Shaw witnessed horrific bloodshed at the battle of Antietam which resulted in 23,000 casualties with no conclusive winner. This affected him deeply, he also sustained a small wound on his neck.

"I never felt, before, the excitement which makes a man want to rush into the fight, but I did that day. Every battle makes me wish more and more that the war was over. it seems as if nothing could justify a battle like that of the 17th (Antietam), and the horrors inseparable from it."
~ Robert Gould Shaw

On February 4, 1863, Shaw’s father visited and asked him, on behalf of Governor John Andrews of Massachusetts, to lead an infantry composed entirely of black soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. Shaw originally refused the offer. Unexpectedly, he changed his mind within four days. Some historians believe it was to please his mother, who hated the idea of racial injustice. After taking the position as colonel, Shaw wrote to his sister, Anne, on February 8, 1863, and said he was at ease with his decision, as his family supported him greatly.

Shaw as a child, 1841. 

-Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune, Russel Duncan

Robert Gould Shaw's Family. -Courtesy of One Gallant Rush, Peter Burchard

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