"Mass. Historical Society acquires sword of Robert Gould Shaw" Topic

The organization announced this week that it acquired the Civil War sword that Colonel Robert Gould Shaw — the white commanding officer of the 54th Massachusetts infantry, the North's first regiment composed of only black enlisted soldiers — bravely clutched in his hand until he was killed in battle by enemy troops.

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Neat!

Jim

A good thing to have happened.

Glad it ended up in a museum. Awesome!

THAT is FANTASTIC!

Interesting.

But how did the sword travel from the Battery Wagner battlefield where Colonel Shaw perished to the attic of the great-grandchildren of Susanna Shaw Minturn, Shaw's sister, presumably in Massachusetts?

I've read that a sympathetic Confederate officer recovered the sword after the fight and had it shipped to Shaw's family after the war. (I'm not able to find this account in a quick look through some books, but I definitely recall reading this someplace, I just haven't located it yet.)

What a terrific find!

piper909 -- thank you for the amplification. An interesting anecdote!

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

I am so glad that the family donated it to such a fine organization and it will be viewed by the public. They could have sold it at auction and made a killing. Thank goodness they didn't. The Society is a top notch outfit and will give this important object the care it deserves.

If I was the Director there I would never loan it out. Nor would I have the hutzpah to ask to borrow it. There is no amount of insurance that can make up for something happening to it. It is the kind of thing that keeps Curators and Registrars up all night. What a great story. This definitely would make your career.

July 19, 1863: Shaw is buried in the rifle pits with his men.

1865: An excerpt from Solon A. Carter's paper "Fourteen Months' Service with Colored Troops," which can be found in the book titled "Civil War Papers," printed in 1900, gave historical society staff a major clue in documenting the recovery of the sword late in the war, Bentley said:

In July [1865], upon leaving the service, the late Assistant Adjutant General was charged by General Paine with the duty of restoring the sword to Colonel Shaw's father, and upon arrival at this home, opened a correspondence with Mr. Francis George Shaw informing him of its recovery.

The sword in question proved to be the one carried by the gallant colonel and was identified by the initials R.G.S. delicately etched upon the blade.

In a postscript to one of his letters Mr. Shaw wrote,"The sword was a present to my son from his uncle, Mr. George R. Russell, who purchased it in England and caused the etchings to be made there."

June 3, 1865: A letter written by Brigadier General Charles Jackson Paine to his family corroborated Solon's account. Paine said the sword was reportedly in the possession of "a rebel officer," according to Bentley's notes. Paine sent officers of the "US Colored Troops" to retrieve the sword and bring it to him. The home was empty, but the sword was found after the area was searched.

March 2017: After a long gap where the sword's whereabouts remained a mystery, it's finally found in the attic of the home of Mary Minturn Haskins, who was married to Robert Bowne Minturn — Colonel Shaw's sister's grandson, and the father of the donors who gifted the sword to the historical society.

April 6, 2017: A member of the family e-mails Bentley explaining that Susanna Shaw Minturn, Shaw's sister, was his great-grandmother "and apparently was very close to her brother [Shaw]."

The family presumes that the sword ended up in their mother's home because it was passed on to their father. The sword might have hung on their father's childhood bedroom wall, the family said.

April 17, 2017: The family gifts the sword to the Massachusetts Historical Society, as part of a larger gift including papers and portraits.

July 18, 2017: The sword will go on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society, more than 150 years after it was stolen from Shaw.

Ah! Very helpful clarifications!! So NOT a sympathetic CSA officer at all, but a mere opportunistic looter; the credit goes to a sympathetic series of Union officers and soldiers. A fascinating story of loss and recovery for this very precious relic.