Exceptional Black soldiers prove their bravery. Fort Wagner - July 11, 1863 by HarryT Big Historical Event contest entry

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of violence. A sun sword streaks across Choppy South Carolina sea Colonel Shaw in command Raises his saber as circling Gulls screech sorrowful squawks At the ready my black men in blue The weight of their enslaved race Heavy upon their chests, the Mission to breach Wagner’s walls   Shaw stands in his saddle Gives battle-ready orders,  “Buglers sound assembly call Drummer boys to the rear Unfurl the colors, my men in blue Now forward at the quick step.”   Twelve hundred feet reply in rhyme Single white voice gives a hearty cry Growing swells of white support “Hey 54th, give those bastards hell.”   “Onward, men at double quick time.” Six hundred valiant black men March on to enter destiny’s fight   Shots and shells from Fort Wagner Rush at ‘em at an incalcuable rate Mini-balls zinging, cannon balls blasting Grapeshot smashing, flesh splattering Bones shattering, men scattering, Union charge stopped then staggering   Shaw shouts, “Take cover, my men, Dig in, stay low.” Killing defending fire -- Dying left on the field, survivors Crawl, dig, hunch low in trenches Battle-scarred men are shaken Tell each other it’s okay to cry Sun slips behind fort walls Voices lifting, praying and Singing of Jesus and someday Crossing the River Jordan They admit they are frightened Resolve fear won’t stop them Under a silver sliver moon Shaw gives the order, the Surviving five hundred rise up Snap bayonets in place Slip past palmetto stakes   Snake up cooled sandy slopes Minds ablaze with victory hopes Shaw calls, “Scale the walls, gain the fort, Rally to the flag men …” Five hundred rise and charge   Fusillades of chains and grapeshot swirls Exploding at the soldiers in slaughtering waves Crescendos of increasing Rebel hell-bent yells Grisly ballet being danced upon Wagner’s stage   Colonel Shaw’s last order Before his eternal sleep    “Oh, men, my brave men…Retreat Bugler, bugler, sound Retreat!”   Early morn, a weeping Sun watches Sister Sea swish the muck of death Shaw, white officers and black heroes Thrown with hateful glee into a Single, watery, sand-pit grave   Then, now and forever in Union hearts March the brave black and white men of the courageous Massachusetts 54th.

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