On June 1, 2022, Boston celebrated the restoration of the Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Memorial with a ceremony on the Boston Commons, where the monument stands opposite the Boston State House. Begun in 2020, the $3 million restoration included replacement of the water-damaged foundation that holds the sculpture and conservation of the high-relief bronze sculpture itself. To honor the restoration, soldier reenactors marched to the memorial, originally dedicated in 1897.
One of the nation’s first Black regiments, the 54th is most remembered for its valiant failed assault on Fort Wagner, S.C., on July 18, 1863. Shaw and many of the troops died in that effort, but Sergeant William Carney, though severely injured, saved the regiment’s flag. For that effort, he was awarded a Medal of Honor,—the first Black soldier to be so recognized.
Private donors paid for the monument, which was
