To Heal the Wounded Nation's Life

In the summer of 2018, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park initiated a Special History Study to examine the African American dimensions of the Col. Robert Gould Shaw and 54^th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Memorial. The Col. Robert Gould Shaw and 54^th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Memorial was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and unveiled in 1897 to honor the first federally-raised African American regiment from a northern state during the Civil War and its white commander.

In January 2022, the park released the publication, To Heal the Wounded Nation’s Life: African Americans and the Robert Gould Shaw/54^th Regiment Memorial by historian Kathryn Grover. Over three years, Grover examined African Americans’ involvement in the memorial’s creation, reactions to its completion, and feelings about this unique Civil War memorial over time. The extensive Special History Study spans from accounts of Black military service during the Revolutionary War to the memorial’s role in recent racial justice protests. Her research describes advocates for the memorial’s creation like Black businessperson, Joshua Bowen Smith, and demonstrates the pride, sacrifice, and inspiration Civil War veterans found in the sculpture.

> To Heal the Wounded Nation’s Life: African Americans and the Robert Gould Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial is now available for free download.

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