Old Glory

William Harvey Carney, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840, attended a school for Black children secretly run by a local minister.

When the Civil War began, he left the South, went to Massachusetts, and joined Morgan's Guard, part of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

In July 1863, he fought in the horrific battle at Fort Wagner. His regiment, a part of a large force, was ordered to storm the sandy beaches of Morris Island, South Carolina, and take Fort Wagner. The battle was fierce, and Carney was hit twice by minieballs. He plunged on and made up his mind not to stop until he reached the Rebel ramparts.

Then he saw the color bearer get hit in the stomach. Sergeant William Carney rushed to him and dove for the flag. He grabbed it just before it hit the ground. He held the flag throughout the battle in which 1757 Union soldiers died. Sergeant Carney worked his way through the melee until he reached the regimental commander. He gave the commander the flag and said, before he fell unconscious, "The old flag never touched the ground."

He recovered from his battle wounds. He is the first Black soldier in the history of the United States to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Information from Shocking Secrets & American History written by Bill Coate