Glory tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts, one of the first black Civil War regiments. One of the conditions of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was that, starting January 1, 1863, African-Americans could officially join the Union Army, though many were already giving a big hand with logistical support, thus freeing up more white troops to get to the front lines. The 54th Massachusetts in particular received much attention because it had the full support of Massachusetts Governor John Andrew and saw action fairly quickly in the southeast around Charleston. Also, as an early black regiment, it got to have the states distinction in its name while other units were listed as USCT (United States Colored Troops). Already made known in art and general histories, the regiment is certainly well known now because of its 1989 film adaptation.
The movie was the brainchild of New York cultural figure Lincoln Kirstein and screenwriter Kevin Jarre (adopted son of none other than Maurice Jarre, composer of Lawrence of Arabia). Bother were inspired by the regiment’s monument in Boston (featured in the end credits), several books (including one by Kirstein himself), and Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s letters. Shaw (Matthew Broderick) provides narration via his letters, but the quotes are a mix of real ones and fake ones to accommodate the changes made for the story.
Edward Zwick got the job of directing,
and admitted that his experience really played with his mind. He was initially
going to do a standard war movie, but as he read the letters of the real life
soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts, he was surprised by the
bitterness and anger he confronted. Zwick realized that the heavy racism of the
19th Century added extra difficulties for black troops, who had to
constantly fight prejudice from white Union soldiers, lower pay, and disbelief
that they could fight bravely and effectively. It should be noted that the 54th
was one of the more well-supported regiments, too, as the Massachusetts
government had its back, yet it still fought an uphill battle against its own
side.
Thus the real enemy of this movie is not
the Confederate soldiers (who are completely absent outside battle scenes) but
general American racism. The 54th doesn’t really get into the war
proper until halfway through the film. Instead the movie focuses on the
training, which is hampered by the quartermaster department’s attempts to cheat
the black troops. The regiment then is put either into unsavory raids on
defenseless Southern towns or put into labor and fatigue duties. Many black
regiments were expected to perform labor duties, as prejudiced whites thought
they were racially equipped for it. After all, most blacks had spent several
centuries as slaves, not soldiers. The 54th itself did toil away at
such duties, but this actually came later in 1863 after they had proven
themselves as fighters. In fact, between the Darien Raid and the action on
Morris Island, they wouldn’t have had any time to get settled clearing paths
through the woods.
This leads to a wider point about this
film. It seeks to encompass the general history of black Civil War regiments,
so it’s accurate in the general experience of black soldiers while inaccurate
to the 54th in particular. This is best exemplified by its cast,
which aside from a few officers are fictional. Like Zwick, many of the actors
had a revelatory experience when researching for their roles, especially those
who learned about their own ancestors’ experiences with slavery and even
military service.
The real 54th was mostly made
up of free Northern blacks, but for dramatic effect there’s a lot of ex-slaves
to show the wider spectrum of men who enlisted in these regiments. Of the four
main black characters, only Thomas Searles (Andre Baugher) is a free Northern
black. He represents the better educated black that served in the Abolitionist
movement. Baugher himself learned that his own ancestors were among the small
educated black population in New York, and leaned into their experience of
being more educated than most blacks, yet still looked down on by most whites. The
character Thomas struggles the most at becoming a soldier thanks to his softer
life, and is heartbroken when his white friends, now officers, aren’t allowed
to socialize with him as before. He comes into his own, however, and helps
teach some of the more illiterate blacks how to read.
Jupiter Sharts (Jihmi Kennedy) is an
illiterate ex-slave who literally doesn’t know his right form his left foot.
Morgan Freeman plays John Rawlins, who as usual for the actor is a wise older
man. He’s already attached himself to the Union Army, helping dig graves for
men killed at Antietam. Thanks to his natural wisdom and common sense, he’s a
natural leader and rises tot eh rank of sergeant-major, which was the best
black soldiers could hope to achieve at the time.
Sharts (Jihmi Kennedy), Trip (Denzel Washington), and Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) (https://pophistorydig.com/topics/glory-film-history-1989/)
Finally there’s Private Trip, played by
Denzel Washington in his breakthrough movie role. Washington won a best
supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal as the bitter and highly cynical
ex-slave. He doesn’t seem to care at all about any of the wider issues of the
war except proving himself and he constantly gets into it with his fellow soldiers. By the end, though,
he finally finds purpose and brotherhood. The key to Washington’s success is
that, diving into slave narratives from the time, he legitimately felt angry at
how blacks were treated and channeled it into his character. The actor went so far into it that
the other actors began to get nervous around him.
There are some history buffs who
complain that none of the real men show up, and indeed there are some
interesting ones who are absent. These include two sons of the famous Frederick
Douglass, Medal of Honor winner Sergeant William Carney, and Nicholas Said, who
was an ex-slave, but not of the American South. He had been abducted by slavers
in East Africa, sold to the Ottoman Empire, then found freedom with a Russian
prince before moving to America (check out his full story sometime).
Robert Shaw (Matthe Broderick)
Some viewers also complained that
Colonel Shaw is a weak main character, though the makers of the film point out
that there really is no main central character. In fact, Broderick allegedly
insisted that his role be reduced so that the black enlisted men would have
more time to shine. Still, Shaw frames the movie thanks to his letters and he
is the commander of the regiment. His big struggle is balancing the duties of
leadership, his idealism, and his friendship with Thomas and fictional white
Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes). Aside from that, he is admittedly not as
interesting as the black characters.
Aside from Shaw and his parents there
are a few real figures who show up. Governor Martina and Frederick Douglass
(Raymond St. Jacques) make cameos at the beginning. Oddly, Bob Gunton appears
as General Charles Harker, a man who was never near Charleston as he was
serving in the Western Theatre. More appropriate is General George C. Strong
(Jay O. Sanders), the general who oversaw operations on Morris Island in
Charleston Harbor.
The one who’s gotten the most attention
is Colonel James Montgomery (Cliff DeYoung). Montgomery was one of the more
violent free-soiler men in Bleeding Kansas, and was known to help out John
Brown. During the Civil War he advocated a hard war policy, as portrayed in Glory when he orders the burning of the
defenseless town of Darien. The movie accentuates his more negative qualities,
turning him into a maniacal figure who hates slavery and secession, yet is
still heavily racist towards blacks and sees them as oversized children better
suited to attacking civilian resources than fighting Rebel troops.
Montgomery executes one of his South Carolina black soldiers while Shaw looks on in disgust.
On to the battles, Glory utilized reenactors as extras. These reenactors were actually
volunteers, who performed because of their love of history. They add a lot of
authenticity to the scenes, especially in wider shots of camp life. A few look
a bit old or fat, but not too much. The story for the 54th itself
was different. Reenacting was largely a white guy’s hobby, so the film needed
to find more men. These included professional black stuntmen and extras hired
from the local Savannah, Georgia population. The end result is that the 54th
looks pretty good as a military unit.
 |
| The 54th Massachusetts on parade in Boston |
The battle scenes are great, though they mostly occur in the last third of the movie. It’s not the goriest film, but there are moments like an officer’s head being blown apart by an artillery projectile. The opening at Antietam, where Shaw was lightly wounded in real life, is visceral, showing the 2nd Massachusetts get chewed up by musketry and artillery. I do have a quibble with the hospital scene after the battle. While Shaw is learning of the Emancipation Proclamation, he hears the screams of a man getting his leg sawn off. In reality, most amputation patients were put under by anesthesia and this would certainly be true for the Union’s top armies.
The level of military discipline is also
exaggerated to show the discomfort abolitionist officers might feel in
disciplining ex-slaves. The training scenes sometimes seem inspired more by Full Metal Jacket than reality. The
stand-out is when Trip is whipped for going AWOL. Even the hardass Irish drill
sergeant is mortified when he sees the scars from Trip’s whippings in slavery.
The drama of the scene is undercut by the knowledge that floggings had been
banned from the US Army for a while, and any officer who did it would have
gotten in big trouble.
Back to the battles, the 54th
Massachusetts finally gets into full action of Morris Island. In the summer of
1863 the Union Army was trying a stepping-stone approach to take Charleston
Harbor. First they would take Battery Wagner on the northern tip of Morris
Island, then launch a combined army-naval assault on Fort Sumter before going
deeper into the harbor. The 54th was first sent to the neighboring
James Island. Here they staved off a Confederate attack in a small action that
rescued the white 10 Connecticut from disaster. In the movie the Battle of
Grimball’s Landing is elevated from a quick skirmish into a full-blown savage
melee where men are clubbing and stabbing each other.
The climax is at Battery Wagner (Union
soldiers thought it formidable enough to be called Fort Wagner). The technical
crew did a great job recreating the fort, even including its ditch and other
defenses. Frustratingly, however, they built it so the Federals in the movie
charge with the ocean to their left, when in real life the ocean was to the
right! Aside from this major geographical blunder, the battle is accurate, a
murderous charge to the fort followed by a breakthrough and melee.
It’s here I want to mention James
Horner’s wonderful score. A lot of it is lifted from other composers, but it’s
done so well and really pulls at the heartstrings. Zwick had all the battle
scenes left unscored to emphasize the chaotic noise of combat, with one
exception. After Shaw is killed trying to lead his men into the fort, the choir
breaks out and then we get a grand piece with some similarities to Carl Orff’s “O
Fortuna”. The choir also plays a hand in the final shot, of Shaw and the 54th's dead being thrown together into a burial ditch. I'm sad the movie didn't find a way to explain that this was meant as a racial insult to Shaw, but his father said he's honored that his son now lay with the brave men of his regiment. Also, the closing text's statements that Fort Wagner was never taken is false. It was eventually abandoned after siege warfare, which the 54th participated in as trench-diggers and sharpshooters.
The 54th in Fort Wagner
I’d argue Glory is the best Civil War film. It’s dramatized while still
showing historical realities, and by zeroing in on one regiment it allows us to
get more of the soldiers’ view. Also, I think it’s the only great Civil War
movie that’s just two hours in length.
Rating: 10/10
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