Musings

Glory. Edward Zick, Director; Freddie Fields, Producer; Kevin Jarre, Screenplay; 1989, Freddie Fields Productions, 122 minutes.

Glory tells the story of one of the first African American regiments, the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry, in the American Civil War.  Mathew Broderick stars as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the white commanding officer, and Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Andre Braugher play fictional members of the 54^th. Kevin Jarre wrote the screenplay based on the personal letters of Shaw and the books Lay this Laurel (1973) by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush (1965) by Peter Burchard. 

The movie follows Robert Gould Shaw from his experiences at Antietam through his command of the 54^th Massachusetts assault on Fort Wagner in 1863.  Shaw, from a prominent abolitionist Boston family, was hand-picked by Governor John Andrew (Alan North) to command this volunteer black regiment.  The regiment experiences prejudices such as a lack of respect from fellow Union solders, deficient supplies from the Army, and assignment to non-combat duties for much of their early deployment.  Shaw writes letters to command and uses family connections to finally get his unit assigned to combat.  In their first skirmish at James Island, South Carolina, the 54^th Massachusetts bravely repels Confederate advances and earns respect and recognition from fellow Union soldiers.  Two days later, Colonel Shaw volunteers his regiment to lead the assault on Fort Wagner, despite Command warning that casualties will be massive as the approach to the fort is exposed and narrow.  Previously scorned by their fellow Union solders, the 54^th is cheered for their bravery as they prepare to approach the heavily armed fort.  Shaw and his regiment fight hard, but the Confederates prevail and the bodies of Shaw and much of the 54^th fall before the ramparts and are buried in a mass grave the following day.  Somber music covers a textual epilogue that explains Fort Wagner survived the Union assault. But the bravery exhibited by the 54^th Massachusetts was widely publicized and helped the eventual recruitment of over 180,000 Black Union soldiers which President Lincoln stated were crucial in the eventual victory by the Union.

Rather than a typical “white male hero” story, the movie builds on the relationships between the black soldiers — former gravedigger, Rawlins (Morgan Freeman), escaped slave, Trip (Denzel Washington), and educated friend, Thomas (Andre Braugher) and how each helped inform Shaw as he develops into an effective leader. Each came to the unit with different backgrounds, but became united in their quest for respect, dignity, and a different reality for people like them.

Denzel Washington’s portrayal of Trip, the bitter ex-slave, won him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting actor.  In the tensest sequence of the film, Trip is caught deserting and is subjected to a public lashing.  When Shaw learns that Trip hadn’t really deserted but was merely searching for decent boots near the fort, he admonishes the Quartermaster and secures boots and uniforms for his soldiers.  In reality…neither of those events ever happened.  Because of Governor Andrew’s patronage of this experimental regiment…they were never wanting for adequate supplies.  And public lashes for desertion were specifically banned.

The scene with Trip getting punished can be excused as dramatic liberty.  What isn’t easily explained is the character assassination performed on Colonel James Montgomery (Cliff DeYoung) and General Charles Harker (Bob Gunton) by the writer/director.  In a completely fictional sequence, Colonel Montgomery and General Harker are accused of confiscating supplies from raided southern towns and selling them for personal gain.  Colonel Shaw then threatens that he will expose them if they don’t assign his regiment to combat.  Not only did this event not occur, but Colonel James Montgomery (although somewhat checkered by his Jayhawker past) served honorably for the Union in Florida and later in Missouri and Kansas.  General Harker was a real character that served honorably throughout the Civil War but was never even in the vicinity depicted in the movie.  As a plot device, there is nothing wrong with this sequence, but why not use fictional characters rather than mislead an audience to brand these historical figures as dishonest?

Civil War Historian Shelby Foote consulted on Glory and was later featured in Ken Burns nine-part documentary The Civil War.  That the movie got so much right is a testament to the writer’s and director’s attention to the details in their source material and the times they listened to their consultants.  The few examples of missing historical facts remind us that historians can only inform the client, not necessarily change their actions.  One of the important legacies of the movie Glory was an increase in the number of Civil War reenactors participating in events in the 1990s and 2000s.

I highly recommend Glory as an entertaining and historically acceptable human story of not only the Civil War, but of the struggle endured by black Americans.  More importantly, though, it is a story of resilience, the power of ideas, and the nobility of sacrifice for a greater good.

     James Meeks, Student, University of Missouri-Kansas City