Glory

The movie glory was surprisingly historically accurate. The 54th did refuse their reduced pay, and Robert Shaw refused his pay with his men. I had originally thought that was made-up to make the movie better, so discovering that it really happened surprised me. In addition, in real life, the men were forced to burn the town, and Shaw did try to resist Montgomery's orders to destroy it. Later, the men of the 54th Massachusetts were actually sent to fight in the smaller battle depicted in the movie. However, one very important person, William Carney, was not depicted in the movie. During the attack on fort Wagner, Carney saw the flag bearer get killed, and grabbed the flag before it fell. He then carried the 54th's flag and didn't let it touch the ground despite getting shot multiple times. He received the medal of honor for his actions in 1900, and was the first black soldier to receive it. I am surprised that there was so much of the movie that was historically accurate, and yet the movie makers excluded one of the most important people in the story of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. The movie made me wonder if Shaw was really friends with one of the soldiers, like he was friends with Thomas in the movie, and if Montgomery actually thought the blacks were so inferior after seeing Shaw's men disciplined and well trained.