Colonel Robert Gould Shaw

Edited portrait of Robert Gould Shaw in uniform

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw

Robert Gould Shaw, son of a prominent Boston abolitionist family, was personally chosen by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew to lead the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. The unit was one of the first African American units in the United States during the Civil War.

At the Battle of Fort Wagner in South Carolina, Colonel Shaw was among the first of the regiment to be killed. He was buried with his men on the battlefield.