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  Home>Plan Your Visit>Tours, Guides, and Maps>Self-Guided Tours>Audio Stop 210
      

      
      Search Audio Stop 210 Select LanguageEnglishChineseKoreanSpanishJapanese
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 A white man in military uniform rides a horse in front of a regiment of five rows of Black troops in this sculpture, which is painted entirely in gold. The artist created a shallow, stage-like space with an arched top so the men are sculpted in three dimensions, though they become more compressed as they move back in space. The men and horse face our right in profile in this view. The man on the horse has a pointed, straight nose and a goatee. He wears a cap with a flat top and narrow brim, a knee-length coat, gloves, and knee-high boots with spurs. He holds a thin sword down by the side of the horse with his right hand and holds the reins of the horse with his left. The horse’s head is pulled upward by the short reins, and its mouth is open around the bit. About twenty soldiers are lined up in rows beyond the horse, and they march in unison. They carry blankets rolled atop knapsacks, canteens, and rifles resting on their right shoulders. However, the details of how their uniforms bunch up around their equipment and the way their caps have been molded and fit is unique to each person. Their ages also vary from young and cleanshaven to bearded, older men. Two men carry furled flags near the back, to our left, and a drummer boy plays at the head of the regiment, to our right. All the men look straight ahead, their lips closed. A woman in a billowing robe floats above them under the arched top of the sculpture with her eyes closed. Her left arm is outstretched, and she holds a laurel branch and poppies close to her body with her right arm. An inscription in the upper right corner is created with raised capital letters: “OMNIA RELINQVIT SERVARE REMPVBLICAM.” A longer inscription is carved into the base along the bottom edge of the memorial, also in all caps: “ROBERT GOVLD SHAW KILLED WHILE LEADING THE ASSVLT ON FORT WAGNER JVLY TWENTY THIRD EIGHTEEN HVNDRED AND SIXTY THREE.” The artist’s signature is inscribed In the lower right corner, in smaller letters: “AVGVTVS SAINT GAVDEN M-D-C-C-C-L X X X X V I I I.”
 Augustus Saint-Gaudens *The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial*, 1900 Carl Cruz, descendiente de un sargento del Regimiento 54.° de Massachusetts, analiza la fuerza de la representación que logra Saint-Gaudens de una de las primeras unidades militares de soldados negros que se formaron en el norte durante la Guerra de Secesión, y el legado que perdura hasta nuestros días.
 Transcripción de audioNARRADOR: 
Con este monumento de Augustus Saint-Gaudens, se rinde homenaje a un grupo de hombres valerosos y pioneros. El  54.o regimiento de Massachusetts fue una de las primeras unidades militares de soldados de raza negra formado en el Norte en la Guerra Civil. En sus filas estaba el sargento William H. Carney. 
CARL CRUZ: 
Mi nombre es Carl Cruz y soy el tataranieto del sargento William H. Carney. 
NARRADOR: 
El sargento Carney, un marino de 22 años de New Bedford, Massachusetts, se alistó en el 54.o regimiento en febrero de 1863. 
CARL CRUZ: 
Fue su manera de asegurarse de que los hombres de color, los que estaban esclavizados, pudieran alcanzar la libertad. 
NARRADOR: 
En el monumento se ve a los soldados que marchan con el coronel Robert Gould Shaw a caballo. En la noche del 18 de julio de 1863, el 54.o atacó Fort Wagner, cerca de Charleston, Carolina del Sur. La batalla fue feroz, y el 54.o sufrió una gran cantidad de bajas. En medio de la lucha, hirieron al portador del estandarte y ya no pudo llevar la bandera.  De inmediato, Carney levantó la bandera de Estados Unidos y luego, al describir lo que había atestiguado, contó:
CARL CRUZ: 
En menos de 20 minutos, me encontré solo, luchando sobre los terraplenes mientras todos a mi alrededor yacían unos sobre otros, muertos o heridos. 
NARRADOR: 
El sargento Carney, quien también estaba malherido, por fin logró ponerse a salvo. Dijo a sus camaradas: 
CARL CRUZ: 
"Solo cumplí con mi deber. Chicos, nuestra bandera nunca tocó el suelo". Ese se convirtió en un punto unificador para que más negros se sumaran a las fuerzas de la Unión, lo que finalmente las ayudó a ganar la Guerra Civil. Por supuesto, influyó en el presidente Abraham Lincoln.
NARRADOR: 
Aunque el 54.o regimiento perdió la batalla, los soldados afroamericanos recibieron ovaciones por su valentía y se convirtieron en una inspiración para muchos.
CARL CRUZ:
Cuando pienso en los hombres del 54.o regimiento, en verdad entiendo lo que significa Black Lives Matter. También pelear por la historia de esta nación, por las libertades de esta nación; algo que aún hacemos hoy. Carney y los hombres del 54.o vivieron eso, hicieron eso, y murieron por eso. Creo que son un ejemplo para nosotros. Espero que, al contar estas historias, en algún punto en verdad venceremos. Visita guiada del Edificio Oeste: Selección destacada
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