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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Currier & Ives The gallant charge of the fifty fourth Massachusetts (colored) Regiment. On the rebel works at Fort Wagner, Morris Island, near Charleston, July 18th, 1863, and death of Colonel Robt. G. Shaw.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02881.23 Author/Creator: Currier & Ives Place Written: New York, New York Type: Print Date: 1863 Pagination: 1 print : col. ; 30.3 x 40.5 cm. Order a Copy

Portrays African American soldiers carrying a United States flag which reads "54th Mass" on the stripes section of the flag as they meet a battle line of Confederate troops. There are 2 prints of this image, with different colorization, both are listed as GLC02881.23. For another depiction of this event, refer to GLC00317.02.

Currier & Ives created prints 1857-1907. Before 1857, the company went by several names, including N. Currier and Stodart & Currier. In July 1863, Robert Gould Shaw died leading the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment in an assault on Confederate Battery Wagner.

Currier & Ives, fl. 1857-1907
Shaw, Robert Gould, 1837-1863

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