Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American soldier in the
Union Army during the
U.S. Civil War. Born into a prominent
abolitionist family, he accepted command of the first all-black regiment (
54th Massachusetts) in the Northeast and encouraged the men to refuse their pay until it was equal to the white troops’ wage. At the
Second Battle of Fort Wagner, a beachhead near
Charleston, South Carolina, Shaw was killed while leading his men to the parapet of the enemy fort. Although they were overwhelmed and driven back, Shaw’s leadership passed into legend with a unit that inspired tens of thousands more African-Americans to enlist for the Union and contribute to its ultimate victory. Shaw's story was dramatized in the 1989 film
Glory, starring
Matthew Broderick.