William H. Carney and the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner

Dec 20 , 2025

William H. Carney and the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner

William H. Carney stood as the last line between defeat and honor. The flag slipped from scorched hands, fluttering perilously close to enemy boots crushing sacred ground. Blood coated his face, but he lunged. The standard was never to touch the dirt. Never.

The Boy from Norfolk

Born into chains on February 29, 1840, in Norfolk, Virginia, Carney’s early life bore the weight of bondage and the longing for freedom that coursed through the veins of all enslaved people. He tasted the bitter air of segregation and discrimination even after the Civil War began.

His faith—rooted deeply in the Black church and the scriptures—provided the backbone for a man who would one day hold a regiment’s honor in his hands. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged," whispered the Psalms he lived by.

Carney believed in a higher purpose far beyond himself. It was this spiritual well that fueled him when hope dimmed on the battlefield.

Into the Fire: The 54th Massachusetts

Carney enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in 1863—the first official African American regiment in the Union Army. These men volunteered not just to fight slavery, but to claim their own humanity in a country that tried to deny it.

At Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, the 54th launched a frontal assault against a grim tidal fortification. The Confederate guns were relentless, tearing through lines, ripping flesh and bone.

Amidst the maelstrom, the regiment’s color bearer was felled. The flag’s fall could mean shattered morale, chaos, and retreat. Carney grabbed the banner, wounded more than once—shot in the legs, head, and chest. His uniform soaked in blood, yet he held the colors high.

“The flag never touched the ground,” he later declared, a testament to sheer grit and unyielding pride. That ragged banner was the heartbeat of the unit, a symbol that whispered: We endure. We rise.

Honors Won in Blood

Recognition came slow and incomplete. Carney's Medal of Honor was awarded decades later on May 23, 1900—the very first awarded to an African American.

His citation reads:

“When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back, he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire, and preserved it from capture.”

Commanders and comrades spoke of Carney’s courage as something rarefied—born from necessity and faith. Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood, another medal recipient, called the 54th’s charge “a solemn, unyielding advance that reshaped the war’s meaning.”

A black soldier’s valor challenged every lie that shackled him—not just the enemy’s bullets.

The Lasting Standard

The story of William H. Carney is not one of glory, but of sacrificial love for a cause greater than self. He carried not only a flag but the dream that every man and woman could stand free and equal.

His scars—both seen and unseen—speak across time to veterans who know that courage doesn’t always mean victory. It means standing in the line, bearing wounds, and holding steady until the last breath.

“No greater love has a man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Carney’s legacy teaches that honor is forged in suffering, redemption in sacrifice. To those in uniform or shadowed life, his example calls out—hold fast, carry the load, the fight for dignity never ends.

Sources

1. Smithsonian Institution + “William H. Carney: Medal of Honor Recipient” 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History + “African American Medal of Honor Recipients (Civil War)” 3. C. R. Rigdon, The Black Civil War Soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment 4. Congressional Medal of Honor Society + Citation for William H. Carney