One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment/Movie Tie in to the Movie "Glory" (Paperback)

~ Peter Burchard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Traces the history of the Union's first Black regiment and discusses their influence on the war.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (January 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031204643X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312046439
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #498,103 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hero comes back to life, June 21, 2000

By	joan a. shelton (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment (Paperback)

Robert Gould Shaw was that shy, stubborn hero of the movie "Glory": a Boston aristocrat, reared among abolitionists, struggling to break free from the iron grip of his mother, a good soldier, a born leader. Peter Burchard's book is still the best for bringing the young Colonel to life before our eyes: reading military history in his tent, courting his future wife, fighting on great battlefields, and displaying awesome moral courage as well as physical courage. A complex and in some ways a heavy-burdened young man, he took on the uncertain, unpopular and dangerous job of organizing, training and leading the nation's first black regiment. He certainly knew before he took the job that in order to prove that "Black Men could fight as well as White Men" he would probably have to lose his life along with many of the men who would come to trust him. The story of how he battled every kind of prejudice and misunderstanding, as well as the common hazards of poor food, boredom, cold, homesickness, and the grief of leaving his wife of just three weeks, makes for a well-presented saga; 140 years later it's still worth pondering. It proves that one cheerful, rather ordinary young man--a dedicated man--can make a difference.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really more a biography than the title implies, March 22, 2004

By	David W. Nicholas (Montrose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book was at least partially the basis for the movie Glory, which starred Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, Matthew Broderick, and Denzel Washington (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). The movie is reasonably historically accurate, though there are parts where they took liberties with the truth. The book sets the record straight in a number of ways.

The book, however, is largely a biography of Robert Gould Shaw. Shaw was born a child of privalege, and raised to be an abolitionist and a devout Christian. When the war started, he saw it as his duty to enlist, first serving in the ranks of a New York regiment, and later securing appointment as a Captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. When the Emancipation Proclamation was announced and the recruiting of Black soldiers began (this was part of the actual proclamation) the governor of Massachussetts decided to recruit his own regiment of Blacks, and appointed Shaw to be the colonel. The regiment served briefly in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, before leading the charge on Fort Wagner, to the south of the city, in which Shaw was killed and the regiment decimated.

This book, as I said, is mostly a biography of Shaw. Since he wasn't anyone particularly prominent, and since he only lived to be 25, there's not a lot to say, and the book is as a result rather short, about 150 pages. Shaw comes off as committed, intelligent, perhaps a bit naive, but brave and skilled. It's an interesting character study, and an interesting but brief account of this one action in the siege of Charleston. There isn't, however, much else to the book, so be warned, it's rather thin. If that's what interests you, however, it's worth the effort.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Read!!!, February 23, 2002

By	Katherine (NY) - See all my reviews

Having seen the movie Glory for the first time this past weekend, I couldn't help but wonder about the 54th and its Colonel Shaw. So, when I got my hands on this book I had very high expectations. I have to say that I was very happy with the quality of this book. It has just enough sentiment for Colonel Shaw and his family, yet it also portrays the 54th as the heroes I believe they were. I would recommend this to any history buff, or to anyone who finds that they had the same thirst as I after seeing Glory on television. Great book..