Historical Inaccuracies In The Movie Glory

Its countless moving and unforgettable scenes that capture the Civil war spirt makes Glory one of the most loved war movies. Glory tells the story of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. This was the first military unit made up of black troops organized in the North by the Union government (“54th Regiment”). Commanded by Colonel Shaw, they led the assault against Fort Wagner on Morris Island (“The 54th”). They suffered heavy losses; almost half of their members were killed, wounded, or captured (“The 54th”). Regardless of this, the unit showed extraordinary courage and dedication (“The 54th”). Their attack on Fort Wagner caused great damage on the fort, leading the confederates to leave it soon afterwards (“The 54th”). Glory tells this story almost flawlessly but there are some minor historical inaccuracies throughout the movie: Robert Gould Shaw in the film is shown to accept the job of commanding the

He is then shown to eventually join and support them in their boycott. In reality however, Shaw was the one who inspired his soldiers to boycott their pay. When they enlisted, the soldiers were promised a pay of $13 a month that was equal to white soldiers (“To colored Men”). But they were later informed that they would only receive $7 per month with $3 taken out for clothing, while white soldiers received free clothing (“The 54th). When Shaw learned of this, he wrote to Governor Andrew protesting against the pay cut and insisting that the regiment should be taken out of the army if the government did not keep to its promise (“The Biography”). He moved and encouraged his men to begin a boycott of the wages on paydays until black and white soldiers earned equal pay (Hickman). Therefore it was historically inaccurate for Glory to show the soldiers as the ones who began the