A Celebration of the 54th Regiment and Shaw Memorial

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Shaw Memorial cast at Saint-Gaudens NHS

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News Release Date: July 31, 2013

Contact: Gregory C. Schwarz, (603) 675-2175

A Celebration of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment and the Shaw Memorial at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

Cornish, NH: On Saturday, August 10, 2013, from 10:00 to 4:30 p.m., there will be a celebration of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, and the Shaw Memorial. The day includes demonstrations by the 54th Regiment reenactors, Civil War music by the Nevers 2nd Regiment Band, and talks by historians David Blight and Harry Bradshaw Matthews. The event and park will be free admission that day.

The day-long celebration begins with Civil War music by the Nevers 2nd Regiment Band who will perform at various times throughout the day. At 11:00 and again at 2:30, Company A, of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment reenactors, will give demonstrations and talk about a soldier's life in the regiment. At 1:00 there will be two speakers. Prof. Harry Bradshaw Matthews, Hartwick College Associate Dean, and Director of the US Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research, will talk on African American Troops in the Civil War. Prof. David Blight, Yale University, Class of 1954 Professor of American History, will speak onA Masterpiece and a Great Story: Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial Then and Now. The day's activities will culminate at 4:00, with a Ceremony of Remembrance at Shaw Memorial with remarks by Henry Lee.

As part of the 150th anniversary of the formation of the regiment in 1863, an exhibition, "Consecration and Monument: Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment" may be seen in the Picture Gallery from July 18 – September 9, 2013. The exhibit covers the story of the formation of the regiment, the first African-American regiment in the U.S. Army, and the battle at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, where the regiment proved its bravery and ability. The regiment and Colonel Shaw are commemorated in the Shaw Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, on Boston Common. A full-size bronze cast of the memorial may be seen at the park.

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is located off NH Route 12A, just north of the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge. The park is open daily through October 31, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information on seasonal offerings, write: Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, 139 Saint-Gaudens Road, Cornish, NH 03745; phone: (603) 675-2175 x 106; visit the website, www.nps.gov/saga, or Like us on Facebook.

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Last updated: February 26, 2015

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139 Saint Gaudens Road
Cornish, NH 03745

Phone:

603-675-2175

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