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One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment by Peter Burchard (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1965)
The movie Glory was based (far too freely, I think) on this history of Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The story in the book is very well written and easy to follow. The research appears comprehensive and accurate as well; the bibliography contains many original and authoritative sources, and many personal letters of Col. Shaw and his friends and family are quoted in the text. These allow Mr. Burchard to debunk the myths and misinformation about Shaw and the 54th Mass., especially the silly, "politically correct" ones that were in the movie. The book provides a clear and compelling history of Shaw's life and the regiment's actions up to shortly after the assault on Ft. Wagner. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Shaw, his regiment, the assault on Ft. Wagner, and the raising of the first Negro regiments.
The movie Glory was based (far too freely, I think) on this history of Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The story in the book is very well written and easy to follow. The research appears comprehensive and accurate as well; the bibliography contains many original and authoritative sources, and many personal letters of Col. Shaw and his friends and family are quoted in the text. These allow Mr. Burchard to debunk the myths and misinformation about Shaw and the 54th Mass., especially the silly, "politically correct" ones that were in the movie. The book provides a clear and compelling history of Shaw's life and the regiment's actions up to shortly after the assault on Ft. Wagner. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Shaw, his regiment, the assault on Ft. Wagner, and the raising of the first Negro regiments.