{{Short description|Sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.}} {{Infobox artwork | image = Robert Gould Shaw Memorial (36053).jpg | image_size = 300px | title = Robert Gould Shaw Memorial | alt = | other_language_1 = | other_title_1 = | other_language_2 = | other_title_2 = | artist = Augustus Saint-Gaudens | year = {{Start date|1884}} | type = Bronze | height_metric =
| width_metric = | length_metric = | height_imperial = 11 | width_imperial = 14 | length_imperial = | metric_unit = m | imperial_unit = ft | city = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | museum = | coordinates = {{coord|42|21|27|N|71|3|48.6|W|region:US-MA_type:landmark}} | owner = National Park Service }} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://home.nps.gov/boaf/learn/historyculture/shaw.htm|work=History and Culture: Boston African American National Historic Site: Massachusetts|title=Robert Gould Shaw Memorial|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=May 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504094805/https://www.nps.gov/boaf/learn/historyculture/shaw.htm|url-status=live}}.</ref> This is the first civic monument to pay homage to the heroism of African American soldiers.<ref name="judith">{{cite book|last=Dupré, Judith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kUaAQAAIAAJ|title=Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory|date=2007|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4000-6582-0|location=New York|pages=80–85|author-link=Judith Dupré|access-date=2023-03-19|archive-date=2023-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225052239/https://books.google.com/books?id=6kUaAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
==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.<ref name="judith"/> 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.<ref name="monument">{{cite book| year= 1897| title=The Monument to Robert Gould Shaw: Its Inception, Completion, and Unveiling ..|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDVGAAAAYAAJ&q=Memorial+to+Robert+Gould+Shaw+and+the+Massachusetts+Fifty-Fourth+Regiment&pg=PA7| location= Cambridge | publisher= Houghton, Mifflin |access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> The monument was meant to show the public's gratitude to Shaw and commemorate the events that recognized the citizenship of Black men.<ref name="monument"/>alt=A photo of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial taken after the completed renovations in 2021. The photo depicts the sculpture set further back from the street to allow for more standing room and benches.|thumb|309x309px|The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial after the completed restoration project in 2021.|leftIn 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.<ref name="judith" /> Saint-Gaudens would later draw upon this new model in his 1903 memorial to William T. Sherman in New York's Central Park.<ref name="judith" /> 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.<ref name="judith" />
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.<ref name="judith" />
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.<ref>"[https://www.wcvb.com/article/shaw-54th-regiment-memorial-defaced/32733306 Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial defaced during protests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605183919/https://www.wcvb.com/article/shaw-54th-regiment-memorial-defaced/32733306 |date=2020-06-05 }}," ''WCVB5,'' a Boston ''ABC News'' affiliate, 1 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=16 Statues And Memorials Were Damaged During Sunday's Protests, Including One Dedicated To African American Soldiers|url=https://www.wbur.org/artery/2020/06/03/16-statues-memorials-damaged|access-date=2020-06-14|website=www.wbur.org|date=3 June 2020 |language=en|archive-date=2020-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614024441/https://www.wbur.org/artery/2020/06/03/16-statues-memorials-damaged|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2020, the monument became a focus of discussion during the iconoclasm that took place as part of the George Floyd protests.<ref name=masslive>{{cite news|website=MassLive|date=July 27, 2020|title=Boston's memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment's black soldiers faces scrutiny in monument debate|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/07/bostons-memorial-to-robert-gould-shaw-and-the-massachusetts-54th-regiments-black-soldiers-faces-scrutiny-in-monument-debate.html|access-date=July 29, 2020|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729045046/https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/07/bostons-memorial-to-robert-gould-shaw-and-the-massachusetts-54th-regiments-black-soldiers-faces-scrutiny-in-monument-debate.html|url-status=live}}.</ref>
Restoration of the monument began on May 20, 2020, and was completed in March 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Sweeney|first1=Emily|last2=Andersen|first2=Travis|date=March 3, 2021|title=Civil War memorial to 54th Regiment returns to Boston Common|work=Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/03/metro/civil-war-memorial-54th-regiment-returns-boston-common/|url-status=live|access-date=March 20, 2021|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310033619/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/03/metro/civil-war-memorial-54th-regiment-returns-boston-common/}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sweeney|first=Emily|date=2019-10-15|title=Civil War memorial across from State House will be taken down for major face lift|work=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/15/civil-war-memorial-across-from-state-house-will-taken-down-for-major-facelift/oonvgnq6trv7LbXP5nsM7N/story.html|access-date=2019-10-16|archive-date=2019-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016070729/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/15/civil-war-memorial-across-from-state-house-will-taken-down-for-major-facelift/oonvgnq6trv7LbXP5nsM7N/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Restoration Work on Shaw 54th Memorial Now Underway – Beacon Hill Times|url=https://beaconhilltimes.com/2020/05/28/restoration-work-on-shaw-54th-memorial-now-underway/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=beaconhilltimes.com|archive-date=2020-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614004725/https://beaconhilltimes.com/2020/05/28/restoration-work-on-shaw-54th-memorial-now-underway/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In November 2023, a copy of the monument in the National Gallery of Art was damaged by a climate activist.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ladden-Hall |first=Dan |date=7 February 2024 |title=Climate Activist Arrested Over Damage to Civil War Memorial Honoring Black Soldiers: DOJ |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/climate-activist-arrested-over-damage-to-civil-war-memorial-honoring-black-soldiers-doj |work=The Daily Beast |location=New York |access-date=8 March 2024 }}<br/>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Scott |date=7 February 2024 |title=Sandy man arrested for defacing African-American Civil War memorial as part of climate protest |url=https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/sandy-man-arrested-for-defacing-african-american-civil-war-memorial-as-part-of-climate-protest/ |work=KTVX |location=Utah |access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref>
==Dedications and inscriptions== thumb|Inscription on the back of the Memorial |alt=Photo of inscription which reads : "To the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Infantry The White officers taking life and honor in their hands cast in their lot with men of a despised race unproved in war and risked death as inciters of servile insurrection if taken prisoners besides encountering all the common perils of camp march and battle. The Black rank and file, volunteered when disaster clouded the Union cause served without pay for 18 months till given that of white troops faced threatened enslavement if captured were brave in action patient under heavy and dangerous labors and cheerful amid hardship and privations. Together, the gave to the nation and the world undying proof that Americans of African descent possess the pride courage and devotion of the patriot soldier, 180,000 such Americans enlisted under the union flag in MDCCCLXIII–MDCCCLXV. The memory of the just is blessed" then the names of the regiments. The work was dedicated by philosopher William James of Harvard: {{blockquote|There they march, warm-blooded champions of a better day for man. There on horseback, among them, in his very habit as he lived, sits the blue-eyed child of fortune, upon whose happy youth every divinity had smiled.|Oration by William James at the exercises in the Boston Music Hall, May 31, 1897, upon the unveiling of the Shaw Monument.<ref name=BCC1897>{{cite book |author=Boston City Council |title=Exercises at the dedication of the monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth regiment of the Massachusetts infantry (May 31, 1897) |publisher=Municipal Printing Office |location=Boston |year=1897 |url=https://archive.org/stream/exercisesatdedic00bosto#page/n7/mode/2up}} pp. 37-53, quotation on p. 41. Reprinted in James, William (1982). ''Essays in Religion and Morality''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: Harvard University Press, pp. 64-74, quotation on p. 65.</ref>}}
alt=Parade on street with people marching, possibly dignitaries. In the foreground, a group of people line the street to watch. Opposite, a smaller group of uniformed people watch. The Shaw/54th Memorial is visible towards the left.|left|Photograph possibly taken by Augusta H. Saint-Gaudens (wife of the sculptor) of the unveiling ceremony of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial.|thumb|250x250px
A Latin inscription on the relief reads {{small caps|''OMNIA RELINQVIT / SERVARE REMPVBLICAM'' }} ("He left behind everything to save the Republic"). The pedestal below carries lines from James Russell Lowell's poem ''"Memoriae Positum"'': {{blockquote|Right in the van of the red rampart's slippery<br />swell with heart that beat a charge he fell<br />foeward as fits a man: but the high soul burns<br />on to light men's feet where death for noble<br />ends makes dying sweet.|sign=|source=}}
On the rear are words by Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University: {{blockquote|The White Officers taking life and honor in their hands cast in their lot with men of a despised race unproven in war and risked death as inciters of servile insurrection if taken prisoners besides encountering all the common perils of camp march and battle. The Black rank and file volunteered when disaster clouded the Union Cause. Served without pay for eighteen months till given that of white troops. Faced threatened enslavement if captured. Were brave in action. Patient under heavy and dangerous labors. And cheerful amid hardships and privations. Together they gave to the Nation and the World undying proof that Americans of African descent possess the pride, courage and devotion of the patriot soldier. One hundred and eighty thousand such Americans enlisted under the Union Flag in MDCCCLXIII{{ndash}}MDCCCLXV. [1863-1865]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=H3194704K95H7.99512&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!18618~!24&ri=2&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=robert+shaw&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=2#focus| title=Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw, (sculpture)| publisher=Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey| year=1997| access-date=October 22, 2011| archive-date=September 27, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927151943/http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=H3194704K95H7.99512&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!18618~!24&ri=2&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=robert+shaw&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=2#focus| url-status=live}}</ref>}}
thumb|Restored plaster cast at the National Gallery of Art A plaster cast, which was exhibited at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, is displayed at the National Gallery of Art,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nga.gov/feature/shaw/ |title=NGA -- Shaw Memorial Home Page |access-date=2011-10-24 |archive-date=2011-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805082254/http://www.nga.gov/feature/shaw/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> on loan by the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=H3194704K95H7.99512&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!18620~!22&ri=2&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=robert+shaw&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=2#focus| title=Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw, (sculpture)| publisher=Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey| year=1993| access-date=October 22, 2011| archive-date=April 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152333/http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=H3194704K95H7.99512&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!18620~!22&ri=2&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=robert+shaw&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=2#focus| url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Moody's "An Ode in Time of Hesitation"|journal = College English|volume = 5|issue = 3|pages = 121–129|jstor = 371137|last1 = Francis|first1 = J.|last2 = Glasheen|first2 = Adaline|year = 1943|doi = 10.2307/371137}}</ref> * 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,<ref name="judith"/> which was partially based on ''One Gallant Rush'', a biography of Shaw and history of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment by Peter Burchard. * 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. * {{interlanguage link|Route One/USA|fr}} shows a group of southern girls visiting and being told about the history by a local guide.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Coffin, William A. and Higginson, Thomas Wentworth. [https://www.victorianvoices.net/ARTICLES/CENTURY/Century1897B/C1897B-Gaudens.pdf "The Shaw Memorial and the Sculptor Saint Gaudens"], ''Century Illustrated Magazine'', vol. 54, pp. 176-200 (June 1897). [https://www.nga.gov/sites/default/files/migrate_images/content/dam/ngaweb/education/learning-resources/teaching-packets/pdfs/shaw-brochure.pdf#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Shaw%20Memorial,over%2C%20NH%2C%20and%20London%2C%201982. See Bibliography in National Gallery of Art publication]. * Duffy, Henry J. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/45112958 "Consecration and Monument: Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, and the Shaw Memorial"]. ''Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 81, Symposium Papers LVIII: The Civil War in Art and Memory (2016), pp. 189–202. * Greenberg, Allan. [https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-last-full-measure-of-devotion/ "The Last Full Measure of Devotion"]. ''Claremont Review of Books''. Winter 2009/10, pp. 47–49. * Greenough, Sarah, and Nancy K. Anderson with Lindsay Harris and Renée Ater (2013). ''Tell It With Pride: The 54th Massachusetts Regiment and Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial''. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. Exhibition Catalog * Grover, Kathryn (2021). ''TO HEAL THE WOUNDED NATION'S LIFE: African Americans and the Robert Gould Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial''. Cornish, New Hampshire: Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park. * Shackel, Paul A. (2003). "Saint Gaudens's Shaw Memorial: Redefining the Role of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry". Ch. 4 of Shackel, Paul A. ''Memory in Black and White: Race, Commemoration, and the Post-Bellum Landscape''. Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press. * Whitfield, Stephen J. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/365652 "'Sacred in History and Art': ''The Shaw Memorial''"]. ''The New England Quarterly'', Vol. 60, No. 1, March 1987, pp. 3-27.
==External links== {{Commons category|Robert Gould Shaw Memorial}} * [http://www.celebrateboston.com/sites/shaw-memorial.htm Celebrate Boston: Shaw Memorial] * Kathryn Greenthal. [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/34389/rec/62 ''Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Master Sculptor''] Published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 19, 1985 – January 26, 1986. Exhibition title: Augustus Saint-Gaudens, master sculptor * [https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/tell-it-pride-54th-massachusetts-regiment-and-augustus-saint-gaudens-shaw-memorial Tell It with Pride: The 54th Massachusetts Regiment and Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial] Exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, September 15, 2013 to January 20, 2014.
{{Augustus Saint-Gaudens}} {{Boston Common}} {{Public art in Boston}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Gould Shaw Memorial}} Category:1897 establishments in Massachusetts Category:1897 sculptures Category:African-American military monuments and memorials Category:Allegorical sculptures in Massachusetts Category:Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service Category:Boston Common Category:Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts Category:Equestrian statues in Massachusetts Category:Monuments and memorials in Boston Category:Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Category:Outdoor sculptures in Boston Category:Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens Category:Sculptures of African-American people Category:Sculptures of men in Massachusetts Category:Statues in Boston Category:Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Massachusetts Category:Vandalized works of art in Massachusetts