The Flag Never Touched The Ground

In 1863 the US Civil War was raging. Abraham Lincoln''s Emancipation Proclamation had freed over 3.5 million African-American slaves and now the Union Army began to recruit a second all-black regiment of soldiers to join the fight. As the struggle against the Confederate South raged on the newly-formed 54th Massachusetts battalion prepared to attack the seemingly impregnable fortress of Fort Wagner. The odds were heavily against them; the fort had never been taken. America was watching them - and when the bugle sounded they marched towards the guns flag held high.