William H. Carney:
Of all the men who wore blue uniforms in the Civil War, none felt more keenly the purpose of his mission than the African American soldier. Every marching step, every swing of a pick and every round fired at Confederate enemies gave him a chance to strike a blow against slavery and prove himself equal to his white comrades.
U.S. Colored Troops were consistently good fighters, performing well in every engagement in which they fought. Even their enemies had to grudgingly admit that fact. One USCT member, William H. Carney, transcended good to become great, and was the first black U.S. soldier to earn the Medal of Honor.
On February 17, 1863, at age 23, Carney heeded the call for African Americans to join a local militia unit, the Morgan Guards, with 45 other volunteers from his hometown of New Bedford, Mass. That unit would later become Company C of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
There was something unique about the new regiment, commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw; it was an all-black unit with the exception of senior officers and a few senior non-commissioned sergeants. The 54th Massachusetts was created to prove that black men could be good soldiers.
Carney was born a slave on February 29, 1840, at Norfolk, Va. His father, also named William, escaped slavery, reaching freedom through the underground railroad. William Sr. then worked hard to buy the freedom of the rest of his family. The free and reunited family settled in New Bedford in the second half of the 1850s. Young William learned to read and write, and by age 15 he was interested in becoming a minister.
He gave up his pursuit of the ministry, however, to join the Army. In an 1863 edition of the Abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, Carney stated: “Previous to the formation of colored troops, I had a strong inclination to prepare myself for the ministry; but when the country called for all persons, I could best serve my God serving my country and my oppressed brothers. The sequel in short — I enlisted for the war.”
The above article was taken from The Military Times. I placed this article on my website to show as an example of true American lives of our history. For more true stories about True American History please visit the link below.
Old Glory stands for Freedom and Equality for All.
The Flag was carried by Union Soldiers during the Civil War in a fight to abolish slavery [v Confederate Democrats].
The Flag of Lincoln.
It was considered a great honor to be chosen to carry the flag in battle.
The Soldier was unarmed and knew they would most certainly die (as did most who fought), but understood that the fight, that their lives, was worth the cost (self-sacrifice).
They believed in something greater than themselves.
To them, the flag represented a symbol of freedom, of hope, of equality and prosperity.
To disrespect the flag, to kneel, is to disrespect those people who fought and died to provide each and every one of us the rights we are afforded today.
Old Glory knows not what color skin carries her – only that for which it stands – one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and JUSTICE FOR ALL.
TO FREE FROM OPPRESSION.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” – Reagan