William H. Carney & the 54th Massachusetts Infantry

Sergeant William Harvey Carney, Company C, 54th Massachusetts Infantry was the first African American Union soldier to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Carney was a former slave from Virginia, escaping to New Bedford, Massachusetts prior to America's Civil War. He had hoped to become a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but once the war began, he believed his services could be better used in the effort to free his people still in bondage. After the Civil War, Sergeant Carney became a strong advocate for racial equality, a role model for the African American community, and a loyal patriot for the country and Constitution he had sworn to protect and defend. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was the first organized African American Union regiment to serve in America's Civil War. Many Northern politicians and soldiers did not believe the African American would take up arms and fight for his freedom, nor would they make well-discipline soldiers. Governor John Andrews of Massachusetts and African American leader Frederick Douglass believed otherwise. They believed in the ability and commitment of African Americans to train, fight, obey, and willingly share the dangers and hardships of soldiers fighting a war. The book, William H. Carney & the 54th Massachusetts, covers the life of Carney and the battles of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. Author CW Whitehair has used primary and secondary resources, letters, and period newspapers to chronicle the regiment's history.