Lewis Henry Douglass

by | - uploaded on April 28, 2023, 6:13 am

A photograph from the 2011 book Freedom by the Sword: the U.S. Colored Troops, 1862–1867 by William A. Dobak in a section discussing the Second Battle of Fort Wagner during the American Civil War. This battle and events leading up to it were depicted in the 1989 film Glory: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097441/

In the photo Lewis Henry Douglass, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Henry_Douglass a newspaper editor and son of American abolitionist, orator, and statesman Frederick Douglass, poses in his uniform as a Sergeant Major in the Union Army. Lewis Douglass was one of few combatants in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment to survive the battle.

The photo was retouched before tracing to SVG and in the original text is captioned "Sgt. Major Lewis Douglass of the 54th Massachusetts was a son of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass." https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.l0103997516?urlappend=%3Bseq=73 Douglass is referred to on the preceding page as having told his parents, "The splendid 54th is cut to pieces."

You can read letters written between Douglass and his future wife, Helen Amelia Loguen, in the course of the War beginning on page 540 of the 1926 compilation The Mind of the Negro as Reflected in Letters Written During the Crisis, 1800–1860, edited by Carter G. Woodson: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002382193?urlappend=%3Bseq=582