List three historical inaccuracies in the film Glory?

Answer 1

Glory, the epic account of the 54th Massachusetts, one of the first all-black regiments in the Civil War, contains numerous historical inaccuracies. Some of them are minor. For instance, the regiment’s climactic assault against Battery Wagner, the Confederate stronghold guarding Charleston harbor, actually took place from south to north, rather than north to south as depicted in the movie.

But many of the inaccuracies are major. Robert Gould Shaw, played in the movie by Matthew Broderick, was not Governor Andrew’s first choice to command the regiment. When the command was offered him, he hesitated before deciding to accept. More seriously from the standpoint of historical accuracy, the 54th, portrayed in the movie as made up largely of runaway slaves like John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) or Private Trip (Denzel Washington in a role for which he won an Academy Award for best supporting actor) was in fact, a regiment of freedmen, like Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher), recruited not only from Massachusetts but New York and Pennsylvania as well. Two of Frederick Douglass’s sons were among the first to volunteer for the 54th and Lewis Douglass, the elder son, served from the outset as the regiment’s sergeant-major.

The deeper truth of Glory is illustrated by the contrast between its view of slavery and that of a story recounted by the Greek historian Herodotus. At the beginning of Book Four of The History, Herodotus tells of the return of the nomadic Scythians from their long war against the Medes, during which time the Scythian women had taken up with their slaves. The Scythians warriors now find a race of slaves arrayed against them.

Having been repulsed repeatedly by the slaves, one of the Scythians admonishes his fellows to set aside their weapons and take up horsewhips. "As long as they are used to seeing us with arms, they think that they are our equals and that their fathers are likewise our equals. Let them see us with whips instead of arms, and they will learn that they are our slaves; and, once they have realized that, they will not stand their ground against us."

The tactic works. The slaves are bewildered by the whip-wielding Scythians, lose their fighting spirit, and flee in terror. The implication of Herodotus’s story is clear. There are natural masters and natural slaves. A slave has the soul of a slave and lacks the manliness to fight for his freedom, especially if a master never deigns to treat him as a man.

At the time of the Civil War, most Southerners believed that blacks were naturally servile. But there was doubt about their manly spirit in the North as well. In the movie, a reporter from Harper’s Monthly says to Matthew Broderick’s Col. Shaw, "will they fight? A million readers want to know." To which Shaw replies, "a million and one," illustrating the fact that in 1863, even elite New England abolitionists had their doubts about the manliness of blacks.

By inaccurately depicting the 54th as a regiment of former slaves, Glory reveals the deeper truth that blacks in general were not the natural slaves that Southerners believed them to be and that abolitionists feared that they might be. "Who asks now in doubt and derision, ’Will the ***** fight?’" observed one abolitionist after the assault of the 54th against Battery Wagner. "The answer is spoken from the cannon’s mouth...it comes to us from...those graves beneath Fort Wagner’s walls, which the American people will never forget."

Answer 2

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RE:
List three historical inaccuracies in the film Glory?

Answer 3

All above are good. I would just add:
1.When Shaw was buried he was actually stripped and robbed by the Confederates.
2. The 54th never won a battle in the War. The first action shown in the film is complete fiction.
In fact when they retreated from the fort they were so interruptive of the soldiers trying to follow them into the fight, other Union soldiers actually fired upon them.
3. They certainly never got into the fort. The only ones who did were a Conn. unit that was either killed or captured.
4. The Confederate flag is incorrect as are some of the insignias of the Union.
5. It doesn't get cold enough that far south to see your breath when you breathe!
among other things...which is why a Hollywood movie should not be used to teach history. They can never get it accurate. Remember the awful JFK movie...?

Answer 4

They show a flag that has printed stars (they were all sewn on); they list the serial numbers on the rifles (that model musket did not have serial numbers) and the most important one, they show the attack on Ft. Wagner coming from the north, when it in fact came from the South. They did this to get the sunlight in the faces of the actors. They knew it was wrong, but they were controlled by lighting requirements.

Answer 5

William Harvey Carney

Answer 6

* The film suggests that most of the black soldiers were escaped slaves from southern secessionist states who wished to battle for the abolitionist north, but in fact the majority were born free in the North, although some did escape from slavery.
* Of the major characters in the movie's version of the regiment, only Robert Gould Shaw was a real person. The rest are composite characters. The name of Shaw's executive officer (Cabot Forbes) is a combination of the first name from one of the real Shaw's friends and the last name of another.
* In the film, Shaw is offered and accepts the job to be the commanding officer of the 54th on the same day. In reality, he rejected the offer once and accepted only after many days. Shaw is also shown as promoted directly to colonel, whereas his record indicates he was a major for several months as the regiment grew in strength and was at last promoted to colonel just prior to the regiment being deployed.
* The incident just before the charge into Fort Wagner in which Colonel Shaw points to the flag bearer and asks "If this man should fall, who will lift the flag and carry on?" is based on a real event. However, the person who asked the question was General George Crockett Strong; Shaw was the person who responded. When the flag bearer fell, another black soldier, Sergeant William Harvey Carney, grabbed the flag and carried it all the way to the bulwarks of Fort Wagner. He remained there under enemy fire until the 54th was forced to retreat. Sergeant Carney struggled back to Union lines with the flag, receiving four wounds from which he recovered. Carney became the first black recipient of the Medal of Honor.
* Colonel Shaw was married, but his wife is not depicted in the film.
* The manner in which Colonel Shaw dies in the movie is based on fact. His final words were "Forward Fifty-fourth" before he was shot several times in the chest.
* The final scene of the film shows Shaw's body being thrown into the burial pit alongside his fallen soldiers. This is historically accurate. It seems to have been meant as an insult, but Shaw's father later said that he was proud that his son was buried in such a manner.
* In the movie, it is claimed that "over half" of the regiment was lost during the assault on Fort Wagner. However, official records state that the 54th sustained 272 casualties, which is closer to 40%. Of these casualties, only 116 were fatalities, just under one fifth of the men to storm the fort. If you include the 156 soldiers that were captured, it would bring the total to "over half".
* In the movie, the ocean is on the left side of the regiment when they charge the fort; this was allegedly done in order to get the best quality of light at the time of filming. In reality, however, the regiment charged with the ocean on their right, coming from the south.
* The real second in command was Lt. Colonel Edwin Hallowell. The fictional Major Cabot Forbes, played by Cary Elwes, is based on him. Although he was seriously wounded, Hallowell did survive the attack on the fort and led the regiment until it disbanded in 1865. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General.
* In the movie, Shaw is surprised when the men refuse pay that was reduced because they are a "colored" regiment (though he eventually joins them in their refusal). In reality, the refusal was his idea, and he encouraged them to do it.

Answer 7

Maj Cabot Forbes