Robert Gould Shaw's View Of Slavery During The Civil War

The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American History. It is estimated that 620,000 men died fighting for their respective sides(civilwar.org [1]). It is thought that nearly 50,000 civilians died during the course of the war (nps.gov [1]).It is a topic that is very well known, especially in the southern parts of the United States. Many people fought and died in this war because of the differing opinions of the southern and northern sections of the United States. Slavery was the most prominent of these differing opinions. Abolitionist movements were progressively becoming common in the North. They wanted put to death the primitive and inhumane practice of slavery. Robert Gould Shaw was an abolitionist. He spent his life, and later gave
When President Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the capital, Shaw was among the first to respond. He enlisted into the Seventh New York National Guard, which is more commonly referred as the Seventh regiment. Confederate soldiers had gathered just south of Washington D.C. in Virginia. This worried Lincoln. He wrote a letter to his family, who were vacationing in Cuba, informing them that “We go off tomorrow afternoon, and hope to be in Washington the following day.” (Burchard 31). He confessed in the letter that he couldn't help crying a little when he thought of his family. The regiment was made up of rich New Yorkers. Shaw, as the son of aristocrats, felt comfortable there. They were praised by many as they marched down Broadway to the ferry that would take them to the New Jersey Railroad Depot.When they arrived at the depot, the families of the soldiers said their goodbyes, and gave the soldiers many gifts. Once the regiment arrived in Philadelphia they were greeted with fervor once again. A few days earlier the sixth Massachusetts marched through Baltimore, a secessionist town, and started a riot; the riot killed 36 of the regiment’s members. Because of this, they decided to board a steamer instead of continuing on the railroad. Several days later they landed in Washington. Shaw’s company set up camp in the House of Representatives. The next day the swore an oath to serve the federal government for thirty days. The regiment saw no action during their defense of the capitol. He primarily did menial work, such as sweeping the floor of the House of Representatives. After the thirty days, the regiment was dissolved. Shaw, who was still wanting to serve his country, enlisted into the Second Massachusetts (Burchard