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Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Sergeant William H. Carney, C.M.H.
 Sergeant William H. Carney, C.M.H
Civil War Hero
1840-1908
William Harvey Carney, famed for the words "The Old Flag never touched the ground!" and hero of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil War , was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended a private school that was conducted secretly by a minister. His home, which is now officially called the "Sergeant Carney memorial House," has become a shrine. Carney himself is depicted in the Saint-Gaudens monument which immortalizes Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and his intrepid colored troops. Carney's features are represented on the face of one of the soldiers following his commander. The flag rescued by Carney is enshrined in Memorial Hall.
Early in 1863, William Carney, then 23 years old, enlisted in the Morgan Guards, which became part of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. In July 1863, the regiment was engaged in the disastrous battle at Fort Wagner . When Carney saw that the color sergeant, the soldier who carried the flag, had been wounded, he rescued the flag, going through a volley of enemy bullets. Delivering it to a squad of his own regiment, he shouted, "The Old Flag never touched the ground!" Then Carney fell to the ground in a dead faint, weak from the wounds that he had received. Mustered out of the army in 1864, he went to New Bedford, Massachusetts before going to California. In 1870, he returned to New Bedford and became one of the four men employed as letter carriers. After 31 years in the postal service, he retired in 1901, then spend his last years as an employee at the state capitol in Boston.
Carney was the first black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor, although like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , he would have to wait over three decades for it. Born a slave in Virginia, he was studying for the ministry when he learned that the first regiment of black soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts, was being formed, and decided that he "could best serve my God by serving my country and my oppressed brothers." During the 54th Massachusetts' assault on Fort Wagner , the color bearer was fatally shot, and Carney grabbed the flag before it fell and then carried it throughout the remainder of the battle. Although the citation reads that he was twice severely wounded, he actually suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the head, chest, legs and one arm. He ended up carrying the flag to safety when the 54th was driven back by a Confederate counterattack. When a soldier from another regiment offered to take the flag so Carney could seek medical aid, he replied, "No one but a member of the 54th should carry the colors!" Upon carrying the flag back into camp after the battle, he received rousing cheers from other units but simply replied, typically for a Medal of Honor recipient, "I only did my duty."
Carney was in great demand as a leader of Memorial Day parades and as a speaker at patriotic events. In 1904, he was the Memorial Day orator at the Shaw Monument on Boston Common.
William Carney was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was a member of Company C, 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry . On July 18, 1863, during the Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina, nearly 37 years after the Civil War, he was cited for military valor. During the engagement by the all-Black 54th and 55th Massachusetts Colored Regiments, Commander Robert G. Shaw was shot down. A few feet from where he fell laid Sergeant Carney. Summoning all of his strength, Carney held aloft the colors and continued the charge. Having been shot several times, he kept the colors flying high, and miraculously retreated his regiments. Although he made of his comrades did not. For in the deadly battle, over 1,500 Black troops died. On this day in 1900, Sergeant William H. Carney was issued the Congressional Medal of Honor, making him the first Black to ever win the coveted award. It should be noted that sixteen other Black soldiers and four Black sailors eventually received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroics during the tragic epic in American history.
Notation Card for Sergeant William Carney
Sergeant William Carney of New Bedford, MA, became the first African American awarded the Medal of Honor for "most distinguished gallantry in action" during the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863. After being shot in the thigh, Carney crawled uphill on his knees, bearing the Union flag and urging his troops to follow.
Company Descriptive Book for Sergeant William Carney
Compiled Service Records, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, RG 94, National Archives and Records Administration.
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