In 1897, a monument was erected on Boston Common to commemorate Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts regiment he commanded. Together with 20 of his men, he was killed in July 1863 in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. At the dedication of the monument, Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee Institute, made an address. He attributed the organization and recruiting of the US Colored Troops to be the work "of John A. Andrew ... and that of George L. Stearns, who, with hidden generosity and a great sweet heart, helped to turn the darkest hour into day, and in doing so freely gave service, fortune and life itself to the cause which this day commemorates."