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Sergeant Carney and the Death of General Shaw

Artist Hale Aspacio Woodruff (American,1900-1980)

Dateca. 1942

MediumTempera on masonite

DimensionsOverall: 11 x 28 13/16 in. (27.9 x 73.2 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineGift of Mr. A. Ailon

Object number83.595

Terms

Battle
Death
U.S. Civil War
South Carolina
African-American Artist
Brown
Blue
Red
Yellow
Green
White
Black
Pink
Multi-colored
Atlanta, GA

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is tempera on masonite panel. The foreground is dominated by men in various active positions wearing a blue uniform. This painting documents the storming of Fort Wagner in South Carolina by the black soldiers of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War. The man in the center, Sergeant Carney, is being supported by one of the soldiers as he dies under the waving American flag.

Label TextHale Aspacio Woodruff American, 1900–1980 Sergeant Carney and the Death of General Shaw, ca. 1942 Tempera on masonite This chaotic scene depicts the Civil War battle at Fort Wagner, South Carolina in which the war’s first regiment formed of African American soldiers demonstrated great courage in the face of harrowing fire and heavy losses. Sergeant William H. Carney (pictured at the center carrying the American flag) was born into slavery in Norfolk and fought as a free man for the Union cause. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle. While many of the artworks that hang nearby were created during or immediately after the Civil War, Hale Woodruff created this painting honoring the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment nearly seventy-five years after the war’s end. It was a model for a proposed mural in Washington, D.C. honoring the heroism of African Americans throughout U.S. history. Gift of Mr. A. Ailon 83.595