“We fight for men and women whose poetry is not yet written…”
~ Robert Gould Shaw
On the last leg of my trip, I hopefully reach out and touch the memorial to one of America’s greatest unsung heroes. Robert Gould Shaw was born to a wealthy family in Boston, but enlisted in the Civil War when he was only 23 years old. He went on to command the 1st all black regiment of soldiers in American history. Gould was killed in the assault on Ft. Sumter along with most of his division. The Confederates buried him in the sand there alongside his men as an act of insult. After the war, many bodies were exhumed and taken home, but his father chose to leave Robert at Sumter, buried among his men. For the Shaw family, being buried alongside the black soldiers wasn’t an insult at all. It was the highest honor imaginable.
Shaw’s memorial was constructed in Boston some 35 years
after his death, although most of Boston wanted it built right away. There was
some dissension about how exactly the monument would look. Shaw’s family and
many other abolitionists repeatedly insisted that Shaw not be depicted in any
memorial without his men also being depicted. It finally happened.
There are pictures on the web for people to look at – but if
you want to, check back here soon because I will be posting mine.
Of all the many splendid things to do directly in Boston
itself, this is the very top of my list. This man fought for a people whose
poetry had not yet been written. If you don’t know much about him, rent the
1989 film Glory, which is a relatively close adaptation of his life with usual
Hollywood embellishments.
The above video is amazing to me – not just because of the
clip selection used which is admirable – but because of the way the music
enhances the sentiment. “Collapse Light into Earth,” is the name of the song
and although it seems much more like a romantic song shared between parting
lovers, it certainly is a metaphor for something much deeper.
Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men so that might
see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Such a light
spurns us to greatness and may we find the courage to let it shine... to collapse the very essence of light into our earthy beings, then let the best of us out to burn brightly for others -- especially those with no voice.
“Nothing is
plainer than the need to fuse the States into the only reliable identity: a moral and artistic one.”
~ Walt Whitman (with some minor embellishments
for ease of reading)
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