Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

The ''Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment'' is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens opposite 24 Beacon Street, Boston (at the edge of the Boston Common). It depicts Colonel Robert Gould Shaw leading members of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as it marched down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863 to depart the city to fight in the South. The sculpture was unveiled on May 31, 1897. This is the first civic monument to pay homage to the heroism of African American soldiers.

History

The monument marks Shaw's death on July 18, 1863 after he and his troops attacked Fort Wagner, one of two forts protecting the strategic Confederate port of Charleston, South Carolina. Joshua Bowen Smith, a Massachusetts state legislator, led the effort to obtain authorization for the monument; others participating in its early planning included Governor John Albion Andrew, who had urged Shaw to take command of the 54th Regiment, Samuel Gridley Howe, and Senator Charles Sumner. The monument was meant to show the public's gratitude to Shaw and commemorate the events that recognized the citizenship of Black men.In celebrating Shaw, Saint-Gaudens depicted Shaw on horseback, while the Massachusetts 54th is depicted in bas-relief, thus creating a "stylistically unprecedented" and "hybrid" work that modifies the traditional Western equestrian monument. Saint-Gaudens would later draw upon this new model in his 1903 memorial to William T. Sherman in New York's Central Park. Each of the twenty-three Black soldiers is rendered with distinct, individualistic features that were based on those of live models hired by Saint-Gaudens.

Fundraising for the monument, led by the survivors of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and emancipated Black people from Beaufort, South Carolina, began immediately after the battle, but funds were redirected because the Beaufort site was found unsuitable and local white people expressed resentment.

The monument was vandalized in 2012, 2015, and 2017. On May 31, 2020, as part of the 2020 George Floyd protests, the back of the monument was vandalized with phrases such as "Black Lives Matter", "ACAB," and "Fuck 12". As part of a renovation plan, the front had been covered with plywood, which also received graffiti.

Restoration of the monument began on May 20, 2020, and was completed in March 2021. The memorial was removed and taken to an offsite location for restoration. While the bronze sculpture was being cleaned and repaired, a new concrete foundation was built. The project cost $2.8 million and includes an augmented reality mobile app that assists visitors in experiencing the monument. New signage was added detailing the history of the Civil War, the 54th Regiment, and the monument itself, with QR codes for the AR app.

In July 2020, the monument became a focus of discussion during the iconoclasm that took place as part of the George Floyd protests..

Dedications and inscriptions

The work was dedicated by philosopher William James of Harvard:

A Latin inscription on the relief reads ("He left behind everything to save the Republic").
The pedestal below carries lines from James Russell Lowell's poem ''"Memoriae Positum"'':

On the rear are words by Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University:

A plaster cast, which was exhibited at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, is displayed at the National Gallery of Art, on loan by the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire. The inscription running along the bottom of this plaster cast incorrectly states that the assault on Fort Wagner and Shaw's death in 1863 occurred "JULY TWENTY THIRD," five days later than the historic events.

In popular culture

* William Vaughn Moody describes Shaw and the monument in the poem "An Ode in Time of Hesitation."
* The "St. Gaudens" in Boston Common (Col. Shaw and his Colored Regiment), is the first movement of ''Three Places in New England'' (1903-1929), by Charles Ives.
* Robert Lowell's famous poem " For the Union Dead", the title poem of a 1964 collection by the same name, refers to the monument in the poem. The first edition of the book featured a drawing of the relief on the cover.
* The memorial was depicted in the ending credits scene of the 1989 film, '' Glory'', directed by Edward Zwick.
* The memorial was used as the background for the 1998 U.S. postage stamp honoring author and poet Stephen Vincent Benét on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
* shows a group of southern girls visiting and being told about the history by a local guide.

See also

* Joshua Bowen Smith
* Robert Gould Shaw
* 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

References

External links

* http://www.celebrateboston.com/sites/shaw-memorial.htm
* http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%20CD-HTML/Monuments/CivilWar/Shaw1.htm
* http://ctmonuments.net/2010/05/robert-gould-shaw-memorial-boston/
* http://iwalkedaudiotours.com/2011/04/iwalked-bostons-common-shaw-memorial/
* http://www.artbabble.org/video/ngadc/shaw-memorial-1900-augustus-saint-gaudens

''Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Master Sculptor''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on the ''Robert Gould Shaw Memorial''

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1897 establishments in Massachusetts
1897 sculptures
African-American military monuments and memorials
Allegorical sculptures in the United States
Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service
Boston Common
Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts
Equestrian statues in Massachusetts
Monuments and memorials in Boston
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculptures in Boston
Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Sculptures of African Americans
Sculptures of men in Massachusetts
Statues in Boston
Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Massachusetts
Vandalized works of art in Massachusetts