Glory is a film based on the historical events of the civil war (1861-1865) , the experiences of the first all-black infantry (the 54th regiment),and its commanding officer Robert Gould Shaw. (Played by Matthew Broderick). This film was made in 1989, produced by Freddie Fields, written by Kevin Jarre, and directed by Edward Zwick. The starring cast included Matthew Broderick as Robert Shaw, Denzel Washington as escaped slave “Trip,” Cary Elwes as Cabot Forbes – second in command, and Morgan Freeman as grave digger turned volunteer- John Rawlins (also a fictitious character.) Glory was a feature film drama with a mega budget of $18,000,000.00 dollars. Glory is a historical dramatic feature film that allows the viewer to learn about history of the civil war and the experiences of the first black regiment on the big screen. This method of learning history is an alternative to the traditional books of history because it involves many of the other senses such as hearing, visual, and emotions. “To see the past. To watch history unfold before our eyes. To have a machine that lets us view the deeds of our forebears and the major events that shaped our world. Such a desire no doubt precedes the invention by Louse and Auguste Lumiere of that most elegant and revolutionary piece of equipment, the cinematograph.” (Rosenstone, 11)
The main issues of this era that were captured by the film were the emancipation and conflicting values between the union and the confederacy that led to the civil war and ultimately the recruitment of the first all-black regiment. There were many reasons for the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was just elected president and this upset the southern state because they felt the Republican party which Lincoln belonged to embodied anit-slavery motives because this is what their campaign was run on. The south no longer felt part of the Union of the existing states. There was a split of the Union that began on December 20, 1860. By February 1, 1861, the states of: South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas all split from the union and created the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis, a Senator from Mississippi was elected as the confederacy’s president. (Duncan, 57)
Even though President Lincoln attempted to remedy the tension between the confederacy and the Union by stating in his inaugural address on March 4, 1861 that he had no intention on ending slavery or repealing the fugitive slave law, the confederacy attached Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 and this began the civil war. This battle on Fort Sumter was also where the film Glory begins as it shows Robert Shaw as an infantry man marching up to battle with his regiment and the details of what that experience was like. Shaw after suffering minor shrapnel wound to the neck is found by grave digger, John Rawlins (played by Morgan Freeman). Even though John Rawlins is a fictitious fugitive- the scene seems to capture the true feeling of what civil war was like during those times. These details can be seen by the number of casualties, types of chaotic war strategies, and aftermath of dead bodies. Other details that made the film Glory very authentic were the authentic looking, re-created uniforms, artillery, and fighting location of open fields. “Glory is a good film to analyze for two reasons. First, because it has been received by academics and the press as an important and largely accurate portrayal of its topic. And second, because it stands as a model of the classic Hollywood or mainstream feature, the kind of film which utilizes self- effacing shots and seamless editing as it creates a self-contained, rational , and ‘realistic’ world on the screen in which the viewer seems to be looking directly through a window at events in the past.” (Rosenstone, 40) “Not only is it the first feature film to treat the role of Black soldiers in the American Civil War, but it is also one of the most powerful and historically accurate movies ever made about that war.” (Rosenstone, 40) As Shaw wakes up and looks up to see the light of the sun that is shaded by Rawlin’s face, this camera angle captures how close Shaw came to death as he “saw the light” of his life instead of the afterlife.
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President Lincoln insisted that the civil war was not about slavery or the emancipation of the slaves. Instead, the civil war was about preserving the union. One of the reasons for this is because most whites were not interested in fighting to free blacks and lose their social position and status to blacks. There is a scene in the film that shows President Lincoln forbidding black to serve in the union army. This scene is shown in the film, Glory, as Robert Shaw makes the announcement to his regiment in the rain and reads the telegram out loud. President Lincoln said, “any black man serving in the Union army will face the penalty of death along with their commanding officer.” (show clip) Even though they were all facing possible death for their service this did not deter the black soldiers from wanting to fight and they all continued to stay.(Duncan, 69)
The confederacy didn’t forbid blacks to serve and readily used them as slaves for a number of serviced during the civil war. Some of these duties included: building forts, blacksmiths, laundresses, nurses, and armories. As the confederacy advanced further north, thousands of southern slaves working for the confederacy saw this as an opportunity to escaped and crossed union lines. At first, the Union did not know what to do with the newly escaped slaves that were abundant in number. However, later Lincoln declared any slaves who served the confederacy during the civil war was considered “contraband of war” and declared free by the Union. This law was a result of the Second Confiscation and Militia Act passed by congress on July 17, 1862, which freed slaves who had masters in the Confederate Army. On July 22, 1862, President Lincoln presented a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. After the Union Army turned back the first invasion of the North at Antietam, MD did Lincoln formally accept black soldiers to legally serve during the civil war. What influenced Lincoln’s change of heart was hearing how the 54th regiment of all black soldiers fought so bravely and suffered such mass casualties for the cause of the Union. (Duncan, 78)
Draft of Emancipation Proclamation (U S Archive)
The character in the film, Glory, which most embodied this newly escaped slave and their experiences was, Trip (played by Denzel Washington.) Trip was a run-away slave who decided to enlist in the Army of the 54th battalion, probably because he didn’t have anywhere else to go and didn’t know where or how to get food. There is a scene in the film where Trip is caught as he goes outside of army lines while enlisted to indulge in some tempting soul food. As a punishment, he is shown being whipped by his superior officers. As Trip’s shirt is removed, scars from previous whippings were shown on his back. This is a powerful scene in the film because it shows how much the slave had suffered and what he was willing to sacrifice for freedom. Trip stand still in humiliation as he accepts his punishment by standing idly as a single tear runs down his cheek.
By the end of the civil war over 178,000 black men served and many received high honors and served as commissioned officers. The first black man to receive a medal of honor during the civil war was Sargent William Carney of New Bedford, MA for the most distinguished gallantry in action during the assault of Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1886. Carney was shot and crawled uphill on his knees holding the Union flag for his troops to follow. (Duncan, 93)
William Carney’s 54th Regiment Card (American US Archives)
This scene was recreated in the film Glory in the end of the film where John Rawlings (Morgan Freeman) fell holding the union flag and Trip (Denzel Washington) picked the flag up and proceeded to lead the regiment on (Battle at Fort Wagner). In the film, John Rawlins was the first to be promoted as the first black commanding officer. The feeling of pride was recaptured in this scene as John Rawling humbly accepted.
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Black men serving during the civil war were treated differently from white soldiers and experienced much discrimination and mistreatment. “Amazingly, Glory released in 1989 was the first feature film to treat black soldiers during the civil war…A second reason for using feature films is that many of them focus on the two historic processes of race relations that have shaped the modern world: slavery and the great encounter between Western Europeans and indigenous peoples.” (Loewen, 82) Many felt that they were not fit to serve and used them mostly for manual labor. This mistreatment was show in the film Glory as the soldiers were used at first to cut wood and build fortresses. They had to constantly ask the permission to see battle. This was dramatized in the film where Shaw threatened his commanding officers Charles Garrison and James M. Montgomery. In this scene Shaw threatens to expose them for the illegal things they have done during the war such as attach helpless towns where only women, slaves, and children, were present, looting, and profiting from their tactics to the War Department. Blacks were also paid less than white soldiers. Whites were paid $13 a month to serve while blacks were paid only $7 and money was deducted for clothing allowances. It wasn’t until June 1864 when Private Sylvester Ray of the 2nd U.S. colored Calvary sent to trial because he refused to accept pay that was not equal to white officers. This scene was re-enacted in the film Glory as the regiment tears up their pay cards and demands equal pay or no pay. Congress did
eventually grant equal pay to the U.S. black troops. The American Civil war was an historical event which parts were re-enacted of the experiences of Robert Shaw and the 54th regiment in the film Glory. The thesis of the film is that everyone has their reason to fight. Even though the civil war did not initially start to free the slave, in the end it ultimately did. I believe the main point of the movie is everyone has a cause that they are willing to die for. For the blacks at the time during the civil war it was freedom. For the whites it was the Union of the states or the values of the south (confederate army). The confederates did not want to lose their way of life which included slave labor. Change is scary, but everyone has to choose their battles in life;” is it worth fighting for?” Is the question you have to ask yourself when you make important choices in life? For Robert Shaw and the 54th regiment, it was worth the fight for them. And for their bravery and legacy, they will always be remembered as a huge part of American history. There is a monument which was built for Robert Shaw’s contribution to his country and a website which features all of his many accomplishments.
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