Glory: Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment

"We Went Down Standing Up"

Glory is a movie about the fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment in the civil war. This was the first all black regiment the Union ever allowed to fight. Throughout the movie one quote kept proving itself true, "We went down standing up." The members of the fifty-fourth proved that they wanted to go down standing up just by joining the army. However there were many situations that proved this further, as the film continued. During the regiment's training period a message arrived at the camp. This message was a warning that all blacks found by confederates would be put to death, as well as their commanding officers. As a result of this warning Colonel Shaw was accepting any soldier's resignations on the following morning. That morning Shaw was not expecting to see very many soldiers remaining, but to his surprise most all of the men were still there. With this act the men illustrated great bravery, and a willingness to take a stand for their beliefs. Another example of the quote occurred in the black regiment's training camp. Soldiers were supposed to be paid thirteen dollars a month, but due to the fact that the regiment was black, they were to be paid only ten dollars. The soldiers refused to accept the pay cut and the prejudice that came along with it. They simply went without pay. They may have suffered an injustice by not getting any money for their services, but they would rather not have the money if it meant taking the racism that came along with it. The fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment volunteered to be the first to move into Fort Wagner. The regiment would be vastly outnumbered in such a battle. Despite the unfortunate odds, the soldiers seemed honored to be the first into the fort. Death was extremely probable for these soldiers, but they wanted to be remembered as brave men that went down standing up. These men willingly walked into almost certain death. This proves how strongly they believed in