Hey all! I've started a new dedicated movie reaction channel, check it out if you want to see any of my movie reactions going forward: www.youtube.com/@mikewatchesstuff
Excellent reaction, sir. Fun fact: the racist soldier who almost got in the fight with Trip and then yelled "Give'em hell, 54th" is the screenwriter Kevin Jarre.
“We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies,” he wrote, “among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company-what a body-guard he has!” The Quote from his father about the remains of his son, Col. Shaw.🇺🇸
its easy to put 21st century into what was done correctly or not. robert gould shaw is an underestimated and unappreciated hero. love the reaction im subscribing now
*Fantastic* reaction, Mike. Please do more film. Your intelligence and grace are a breath of fresh air. First VHS I ever bought as a kid was Glory. Can't honestly say exactly why...but I watched it over and over and got misty eyed every time.
Hey brother thanks for the kind comment, and for your other comment on the Killing Fields reaction as well! I really appreciate that. Sounds like that's a solid first VHS to own! Now don't go thinking I'm all intelligent, sometimes I enjoy reacting to brain dead horror movies that require no thought lol
@@Yeedeed I'd _love_ to see you react to some silly horror movies. As long as the film's not mean-spirited ( _too_ much is, 'course) Horror is the tops and it'd be *FUN* to watch "with" you. I can recommend...but then any fool on the internet can fill the anymouse box with dumb recs. I'm likely a fool too, no way to tell. Any favorites, Mike?
Really enjoyed this reaction. I saw this in the theater when it first came out and it was extremely powerful. The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens at 24 Beacon Street, Boston (at the edge of the Boston Common).
I did too with my late uncle and his son, my cousin, Mr. Bryce. It was a very well done and acted film. What a tragic ending for many of them guys and Colonel Shaw / Major Forbes
Fun note, the guy waving the flag at the top of the wall is a representation of the first African American to earn the Medal of Honor, he lived. Much of the script was based on Col. Shaw's own letters to his mother, this (along with Gettysburg) is considered one of the most accurate American Civil War films yet made. Ultimately, Fort Wagner was abandoned by the Confederacy, following weeks of shelling. The 54th went on to other deeds, but this remains their most famous Another, less well known early unit of African Americans was the Louisiana Native Guard, the 1st and 3rd lead similar assaults in the Siege of Port Hudson. Unfortunately, they were even less successful than the 54th...
I should interject a few things. It's a great movie, but there are inaccuracies for dramatic licence: 1. The 54th were not housed in tents, they were in wooden barracks with adequate clothing. They also had a minimum reading requirement. 2. Flogging at this point had been banned by the Army, and even when it was allowed, the punishment would have applied to any soldier, white or black. As he went AWOL during wartime, this bumps it up to desertion, for which the death penalty could apply. Given a choice, I think flogging would have been the better option. 3. It was actually Shaw himself to revolted against the unfair pay. 4. The treatment of Col. Montgomery is pretty egregious. He didn't own slaves, he was a Jayhawker who was a virulent and fervent abolitionist, who with Harriet Tubman, freed 700 slaves from the Combahee Ferry. The scorched earth policy was commanded by Gen Hunter (who is the real baddie). He was ordered to burn Darien (though Shaw did oppose this and in his letters to his wife Annie expressed shame and disappointment in the action.) Montgomery did express his views for the reason about having civilians and soldiers alike experience the horrors of war, and the "sweeping" comment is true (as noted in Shaw's letter), but Shaw didn't want to be an Avenging Angel.
Oh, I should note it was Union policy for this kind of extreme action at the time. Also, the "contraband" were made up of both freemen and former slaves, just like the 54th. They were the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and they went on to battle at Ft Wagner as well. This is my major beef against the movie (being a war historian as I am). Gen Hunter truly is the baddie of the two, and he was subsequently removed from his post after the actions at Darien. Montgomery, a complex man, but was a moral man on the whole. Oh, and he never wore a straw hat, he was from Ohio and moved briefly to Kentucky before Kansas. www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2004summer_dirck.pdf
Sgt. William Carney. In the actual battle, he picked up the flag. He was shot multiple times, but he made it all the way back. "The old flag never touched the ground, boys," he said before collapsing. He survived the war, was promoted to sergeant, and became the first African American soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor, in 1900.
What an excellent review. I really enjoyed you adding some context to the movie. This is one of my top 25 movies and I have seen it countless times. Also I appreciate your service; thank you sincerely.
In those days rank could be purchased, commissioned or even awarded by politicians. Individual states would form their own regiments and assign their own officers, even uniform standards could vary wildly. After the Civil war they reformed the Army to be more centralized to the Federal Government and more uniform in training and ranks. As for the Sargent Major, notice that he was very capable of extreme physical violence to shock or to make a point, but immediately after switches to quiet commiseration or quiet praise to show the soldier that it's not personal. Also Sargent William Carney, the soldier that inspired Morgan Freeman's character was the first Black soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that rallied the regiment and saved the regimental colors during the Battle of Fort Wagner. This era in American military history is pretty interesting.
My grandfather was in a New Jersey National Guard regt. in 1917. The regular army was tiny, so Nat'l Guardsmen were sent in the early deployment in France, assuming they had some military training. Actually, they were completely green, since the only things they ever did was marching in the 4th of July parade. They were nationalized and became the 113th US Inf., but never had sufficient training for modern warfare. They went into battle in 1918, but were as green as the 1914 French volunteers had been. They suffered enormous losses.
Heyo, I'm mid reaction right now, but really enjoying it. I love this flick and just wanted to see what others thought, and yeah, really liking the insight and commentary. 100% thank you for your service as well, gotta say that.
What people don't understand about the flogging scene...this was the standard punishment for any soldier who had gone AWOL, or left the encampment without permission. But during wartime (as this was), the AWOL charge would have been automatically upgraded to desertion, which was punishable by death by firing squad. And if it had been the firing squad, the execution would have been carried out in front of the entire assembled regiment, as a lesson to the others. Whether to impose the flogging or the execution as punishment for desertion was left up to the discretion of the commanding officer. The thing is...this was not about race. This was the standard military punishment at the time-a white soldier would have gotten the exact same punishment for the same offense.
Thanks for the comment! So at least for my part, I completely understand that flogging was standard back then. I'm sorry if I might not have said it clearly on that part of the movie, but I was trying to express that in light of the history of African Americans, they should have broken protocol and used a different corporal punishment to be considerate of their history. But on the other hand I also know it was a different time, and we're only today consciously considerate about such sensitivities.
@@Yeedeed The other part I noticed was when Thomas was wounded in the shoulder in the first battle...Not buying it. If a .58 caliber soft lead bullet, traveling at a comparably low muzzle velocity, hits you square in the shoulder like where he got hit, he's pretty much guaranteed to lose that arm.
I always assumed his decision to flog Denzel's character was because it the only punishment alternative he had short of actually shooting him for desertion.
It must have been disturbing for Shaw to flog Trip on another level, because he came from an abolitionist family, a cause for which he was willing to give his life. Here he was forced to whip another man.
The scene of Colonel Shaw firing the pistol as that private attempted to load and fire is an excellent example of the concept of "train as you fight". Use to play the scene on occasion to develop that mindset in young soldiers. While 23 was a young colonel even by American Civil War standards, keep in mind that Custer was a major general at 23. Shaw was selected due to his high educational and social standing, as well as a very good combat record. Custer was a very rare commodity as a professional soldier (West Point graduate). With the high turnover rate due to death, wounding, disease, and obvious incompetence amongst officers, promotions were greatly accelerated.
Also keep in mind that in this era (up to and including WWI), there was little in the way of formal officer training aside from West Point (ROTC, OCS and other things came later) and officers were often drawn from the ranks with high education and status. This also explains why there was little in the way of formal leadership training for officers: Leadership was seen as a quality that men of these backgrounds naturally possessed because of said backgrounds. As is normal, this worked out to a degree, but not always.
When fighting with muzzle loaders, line formations are the best tactic. It may look suicidal but it offers the most firepower and holds ground. Normally skirmishers shield the line infantry however at Antietam, the battle during the beginning of the film the Union Army of the Potomac was too green and disjointed to use them effectively in such a big battle. They still forced the rebels back out of Maryland making it a Union victory however. Robert E Lee lost 25% of his army and barely escaped. It was a disaster for the rebels.
Line battles were the best tactic for Smooth Bore Muzzles Loaders. By this period however, the world had moved on to Rifled Muskets.. Accuracy could now be attained without firing Volleys..
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon Nope, Rifled muskets don't load any faster and have a parabolic trajectory from 75-200 yards. So you still had to close within smooth bore range because A. Until mid 63 both sides were using smoothbores and you had to fight at the range of your shortest ranged muskets . and B. Neither military enforced accuracy training. When Sherman finally ordered it in 64 for his department he didn't even specify how many minne bullets needed to be used during training. In other words rifling really didn't change anything during the war.
I never said anything about loading speed. Not all Rifled Muskets used minie bullets, but patched undersized ball to engage the rifling. Rifled muskets had an effective range of 4-600 yards. And yes, I’m aware neither side enforced ‘accuracy” (marksmanship) training.. (This is also a mark in my point’s favor, btw.) They did however train in firing accuracy. They did not simply point a musket in a vague direction and fire wildly.. The world knew of the accuracy of rifled muskets for centuries. As I’ve previously mentioned, using undersized patched ball cartridges (paper cartridges, consisting of a pre measured powder charge and patched ball) was common long before the 1860s, before the Minie became more available, and they were plenty accurate. Also, using a single tactic with an assortment of weaponry and undercutting the effectiveness of one’s rifles is a bad strategy.. you keep making points in My favor yet saying ‘you’re wrong”..
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon Nope, your wrong. there was no school of rifle accuracy. Troops who enlistested were not taught that. They didn't use patched bullets in the Civil War. they had standardization the industrial revolution. No, West Point did not teach rife accuracy and the Generals who fought in the Civil War learned in the Mexican War. They used Smoothbores in that war btw. You really have no understanding of American military history. The manual of arms didn't even teach accuracy.
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon You're just making bullshit up. I suggest you read "The Rifled Musket in Civil War Combat Reality versus reality." and Civil War infantry Combat Tactics, training, combat and small unit tactics" by Earl J Hess. Then I suggest you buy both a smoothbore and rifled musket and test them yourself like I have.
Rawlins wears 2 Stripes when he's promoted to Sergeant Major, so he was promoted to that rank from Corporal. Still a big leap, but he was already in an NCO role and hence deemed suitable for the task at hand.
In 33 yrs. I still can't get pass "GIVE'M HELL 54TH" Before I get emotional. Broderick's "WARGAMES" as a young kid is quite a performance and launch his career as a serious actor.
Some context to the battle for Fort Wagner. Only the 54th and another regiment made into the fort before being repelled. Major Cabot was a composite character, and the men he is based off survived the battle. One of them took over the 54th after Col. Shaw's death. Sgt. Major Rawlins is based on Fredick Douglass' son who was the real Sgt. Major, who also survived the battle. Fort Wagner's garrison size was under-estimated, they thought around 1000 troops were defending, it was closer to 1700. The union shelled the fort for hours prior to the assault both by sea and by land(including 10 inch seige mortars). The fort had a bombardment proof shelter that the confederate troops hid in and were relatively safe.
British soldiers of the time were toasted all the time. Floggings were normal for breaches of discipline. Deserters were hanged. The prisoner was lucky to live.
We can't judge 18th century 19th century America by today's standards.Slavery was an institution practiced all over the world not just in this country .
The 54th Massachusetts was the 2nd colored regiment, not the first. The reason then Captain Shaw says they made him captain was that in those days, the officers in a unit were elected by the unit. This practice even continued thru WWI. President Harry Truman was himself “elected” by his unit to be their Captain. At the party, 9:53, Cary Elways character “Forbes” was wearing the rank insignia of a 2nd Lieutenant. There was no “Butter Bar” for that rank’s insignia back then. You just received a blank Officer’s tab. You then received the traditional silver Lieutenant’s bar upon promotion and it was added to the officer’s tab.
Hey brother you took my suggestion! Sincerely appreciate it! More tho Thankyou for your service! I used to listen to this soundtrack to go to bed when I was a kid . Beautiful. I’ve been really sick hopefully not Covid ? But been watching your movie reactions to help pass the miserable time while missing my daughters so just wanted to say thanks brother, your channel is awesome and deserves the growth.
The movie dosen't show it, but the 54th Massachusetts was actually supported by two other Union brigades during the assault on Fort Wagner. However, if memory serves me right, the other regiments did not reach as far as the 54th, since heavy enemy artillery fire prevented them from advancing further and supporting the 54th. Btw, if you liked this movie and are interested in watching more Civil War related films, then I suggest watching Gettysburg.
Excellent reaction vid. I really enjoyed your text additions. I saw this when it was released, and it prompted me to read one of the two books on which the film based. That statue you wondered about at the end of the film really is one of Shaw and the 54th. The book, “One Gallant Rush” was written by Peter Burchard after he saw that statue and noticed that the soldiers were African American, which made him curious what the story behind it was. It’s funny how little things like that can ultimately lead to us knowing this incredible, and mostly historically accurate, story. As for Shaw being so young for his rank, social standing and family connections used to play a vastly greater role in assigning rank and granting promotions, and it was sincerely believed (and in civilian life, to a lesser degree, it still is today, as I’m sure you are well aware) that one’s family and status actually reflected character and ability. Plus, of course, war has a rather direct way of creating opportunities for rapid advancement. My only additions would be my admiration for the soundtrack and score, which, even though I saw this movie about 30 years ago, I never forgot, and to mention one shot in the last act I don’t think you included - Shaw I think still on his mount just before he set him free to run the beach - he takes a moment to look out over the water and you can just see he’s thinking he’ll never see the ocean again. It was, for me, one of the many, many moments in the final act that really grabbed me emotionally, particularly when I remembered it after the film was over. Your text bit about Shaw’s father saying it was an honor for his son to be buried alongside his men…I didn’t remember that from the book, but that was very powerful on so many levels. God that says so much right there. Thank you for including it. There have been some minor but valid criticisms about Glory being very much from a white person’s point of view. I’m on the fence about that though. I do think it has just a bit too much of the White Savior vibe, but only a bit. Shaw’s letters, after all, were a major source of the narrative framework. And the film does spend a great deal of time with the whole cast. Maybe there is another film to be made about the 54th, but Glory doesn’t suffer too much from it’s narrow perspective. Besides, nobody wins a best supporting Oscar by disappearing into the background, and neither Washington or Freeman ever accept characters that demean or diminish them beyond realistic social or historical contexts. Fantastic job on this video! Along with those great text additions, you manage to display enough of the actual film such that we can easily follow. Really, really well done
I truly appreciated your reaction! It says a lot about your sense of awareness in how you were able to understand Private Trip's perspective and the source of his anger and resentment. This movie did something that I've rarely seen done in with movies set during the timeframe of American slavery. That is that the characters, both black and white are not one note. I'm so used to seeing the white characters being either only bigoted or benevolent. Then the black characters are written almost only as a sympathetic figure. That's not how real people are. These characters each had their own personalities and were truly fleshed out. We saw so much growth and development from certain characters. Even the guy who ended up saying, "Give 'em hell, 54th!" was powerful because we saw what he did and said in his first scene.
45:02 I absolutely love this assessment. You are totally right. However, the point Colonel Shaw is making isn’t to win or even to survive. It’s to show that he and his men will not falter at any challenge regardless of how daunting. If his regiment proves itself in combat, in life or death they stand as an awesome example for what anyone can accomplish when given a real chance.
Great Reaction, even more so from a veteran with Military experience. over this matter. At 6:14 he has double bars on his shoulders to show he's a Captain. On the matter of Tripp's punishment, Shaw was limited to what he could issue out. 1.He had no military prison available to him - that came later n the Civil War. 2.Tripp had little to no money- so he can't fine him. 3.Shooting him would really demoralize the whole Regiment. In the end, Flogging him was the only option to him to maintain discipline Other Forces at the time Flogged their personnel. The Royal Navy in the 19th Century Flogged their sailors for was much as spitting on the deck ( spitting on the ship = spitting at the King , hence Royal Naval vessel called H.M.S - His Majesty Ship). The British Army at the Time Flogged their soldiers for as much as being asleep or drunk on duty. All in all, in some way Tripp may have got off lightly for AWOL/ desertion. I think Rawlins was a Corporal with his 2 strips at 31:25 - but thats still a jump, but I feel his maturity, also his ability to read and write helped as well. Adding to that I think that they only had 5 levels of enlisted ranks during the Civil War not like the modern U.S. Army. fortconcho.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Military-Rank-for-19th-century-army.pdf
When I was a little girl in the early seventies Morgan Freeman was on a children's educational show called Electric Company. He wore purple and red and had a big beautiful Afro. He helped me learn to read. I still love him for that ☮️🌹❤️
The last shot of Shaw and Trip sharing a grave represents, that "in death we are all equals". Shaw being a young white educated man from the upper class bourgeoisie, and Trip being a black flogged and runaway slave.
Those tactics were not the product of stupidity, or recklessness. They knew rifling technology had progressed and muskets and cannon had become far more accurate, but it didn't matter. Basically all those things that we modern folk think they should've been doing in combat in the 19th century, they simply couldn't do. They didn't have anything resembling modern battlefield communication. Everything had to be done by either word of mouth, bugle and drum, or courier. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that a Civil War battle of any real size quickly became a den of noise and black powder smoke, making it very difficult to both hear and see things much further than a couple of yards. Put simply, "close order" tactics were the only viable tactics available for maintaining unit cohesion, and would remain so until the advent of the radio much later. If they had tried spreading out, they would've quickly lost track of each other. Even in WW1 when crude radio tech was coming onto the seen, they still found themselves having to move in formations that would be deemed far too close by today's standards, and that was often against machine guns. Coincidentally this is also why night fighting was so rare in those days; too easy to lose track of one another.
Napoleonic tactics...they believed that to mass your fire, you had to mass your men. The weapons exceeded the tactics. 48 caliber, soft lead bullets that flattened out when it hit. They caused massive wounds, not like modern, steel jacketed bullets that go through the body. The wounds were horrific, and that's why there were so many amputations. Despite casualties that ran as high as 50% in battles, most deaths in the Civil War, were from disease. Dysentery, small pox, pneumonia and infections took thousands of lives. I've read some of Shaw's letters home. He was eloquent, spiritual, and wholly committed to freedom...for all Americans. There are photos of the 54th at a reunion, years after the war. They are old men, but they proudly display their regimental flag. It's torn, and bloody, but it's there in all it's Glory! This film is special...the cast is brilliant, but Morgan Freman...his performance is nuanced, yet powerful. Thank you for sharing this film. It's an important moment in America's history.
I don't think flogging would have been seen as anything unusual back then. To a modern audience, it's striking, but all kinds of people were whipped for all kinds of reasons back then
@@Panamaschild ehh... that's arguable. Any punishment could be called "inhumane." That's kinda the point. I'd argue that 10 minutes of public shaming, which actually corrects behavior, is far more humane than 20 years in jail, which doesn't really achieve anything.
Excellent reaction! Absolutely loved everything about it. This is one of my all time favorite movies. I’ve never seen your channel before, and I’m so glad I found it. I love how you didn’t chop up the movie and have your face as the picture instead. How you didn’t try to condense it to 25 minutes. I literally loved and appreciated everything. Subbed and will look out for other reactions. I don’t know if you’ve seen or reacted to Tombstone, and/or, Crimson Tide, The Last Samurai. I would love to see your reaction to any or all if you’re interested. Thank you!
As said here there were several problems in this era 1- Communication was hard, 2- Rifles with range were very expensive and only reserved for sharpshooters, 3-Discipline, we can't forget most men were conscripts not volunteers and most regiments had little combat training. I understand we say today it was stupid but technology simply wasn't on par with war back then
had the honor to meet the great-great grand daughter of the color Sargent this movie is built around. he was mayor of his community after the war and a school is named after him as well as being represented under the statue of col. Shaw on the pedestal. lives in Hamden,Ct
I have never been called a racial slur in the USA but when I taught in Taiwan I got some Gweilo comments and it doesn't feel great, worse when they spit at your feet. Very strange considering I'm half Taiwanese. The Chappelle "hey that's racist joke" is right. I wasn't even mad, just stunned.
About the insignia: modern dress blue uses exactly the same officer rank straps as were worn then. About $13 a month--by World War Two, it had only gone to $50, in spite of actual cost of living.
Baseball developed into a game similar to today's baseball during this war. It was based on Rounders an older bat and ball game from Britain or Ireland. It's said it was created by General Abner Doubleday but that has been proven to be inaccurate.
I will say though sir in your assessment at the 5:00 mark. Fighting wasn't stupid then. Switch your perception the attackers. They missed most of the time. Everyone is jittery, it's completely chaotic. But the isn't a different way. In those days you can't do anything to the enemy unless you're close. You can't sneak around either. They will greet you. You have to fight head on this days. And Pray to God you win.
The reason the rest of the Union Army didn't attack with them was because the terrain only allowed for a single regiment to advance at a time. In truth, Fort Wagner was almost certainly impossible to take without the use of numerous Union regiments, hence why the Union only took possession of the fort when the Confederates abandoned it. It's also worth mentioning that while the 54th proved their bravery and valor 1000x over, they sadly never breached the walls as shown in the film (Which is dramatized for obvious reasons.) If they had, the other Union troops would have advanced in support as the Confederates would have little hope of driving off the Union troops at that point. Col. Shaw was killed in a similar fashion though (Shot and killed on a parapet while rallying his men onwards).
Thank you so much for your reaction and analysis of the film. I appreciate your veteran's perspective. If you can, of love it off you can review the 1946 film "The Best Years of Our Lives" about WW2 vets reintegrating to society after service.
The navy could soften up a fort in those days, but the enemy could always repair the walls at a faster rate than the available cannon could destroy them, for the most part.
I went to Ulysses S Grant Magnet School, emphasis on us military brats which i am. In elementary school we were required to give a book report every 2 weeks, in the library there were these certain books w/ a red tape on the binder (scheduled to be banned by state legislature). The book was The Letters of Robert Gould Shaw, photocopied letters Shaw wrote to his mom during his entire tenure as Colonel of the 54th. Why this was banned is beyond me, it changed my life and even though i never served myself I still try to live up to Shaw's image to fight for a free world.
Not from PFC, he was taken from CPL to SGM. Still, hell of a promotion. Also love the aspect the old US Army uniforms had. The different branch colors we see nowadays on the shoulder straps for officers, yeah that was the same for the Chevrons back then. If you earned a service stripe (or even overseas stripe) in the Cav, it would stay gold if you went infantry. So, it was pretty common to see a mini rainbow for those seasoned soldiers that went in different places in the army. Closest thing we got to it now is when you see a Cav Scout serving in an infantry unit and they have the respective hat cords.
Antietam- there was a 5hr period were they averaged 1 casualty every second. Baseball- Major General Abner Doubleday had a major influence with the rules of the game. Warfare- Napoleonic/ linear warfare was designed around the mid 1600’s. Vast majority of the Generals on both sides were heavily influenced by the Napoleonic wars (45 years prior).
sadly not too long ago the do gooders tried to get the 54th mass monument that you see at the end of the movie removed claiming racism as Col shaw was on his horse while his troops marched claiming it was putting the white man above the blackman and all that crap. if you haven't done it yet "Gettysburg" would be another great movie to do but it's a long 1.
Great reaction Brother! one of my favorite movies from childhood. Inspiring movie about brave and honorable men. The Navy did assist with bombardment until the 54th got within 150 yards of the fort. at which time the fort opened up with cannon and rifle fire..... random suggestions havent checked your entire playlist yet. "Hacksaw Ridge" "Heat" "Sicario" "Gangs of New York" "The Revenant" "Apocalypto' good breakdowns of movies id like to hear your take on these keep up the great work
That was the souths most fortified base, thousands were lost and the 45 knew and they told it was suicide, they needed someone to make a big enough dent to send larger union forces. Union struck soon after.
The whipping scene is 100% Major Forbes' fault. He was standing in full assembly, calling his Colonel, "Robert", and basically commanding him not to do the whipping. He put Shaw in the position of having no option but to whip Trip or look as if the chain of command has broken down. I imagine Shaw would have relieved Forbes of duty had they not grown up together. Any other Colonel would.
Unfortunately line formations were necessary for the officers to convey orders to the troops, not until the advent of the field radios were line formations ultimately unnecessary .
Morgan Freeman was a corporal, PFC didn't exist yet. He would be skipping 5 ranks to master SGT. He would be Shaw's link to the other sergeants. It wasn't uncommon for a regimental colonel to meet with all of his first sergeants away from company level officers to hear straight from the horses mouth.
I've seen this movie more time's that I can remember, & even though I know the ending? I'm always roofing for them. Unfortunately Fort Wagner was never taken & the confederates abandoned it later on. When an inquiry was made about Col. Shaw's body? His patents said there could be no better place for him, then to be among his brave soilders. I'm para frarising but I think I'm pretty close to the actual quote.
Nothing wrong with that, this movie is a masterpiece. I think my love for SPR is also tied into sentimentality as well. I saw it as a kid (too young to be watching stuff like that, but hey) and I processed emotions differently then. The way I felt when I saw it as a kid, I've never really had too many feelings like it when seeing other films
This a fantastic reaction though you had me when you were honest about not reacting to movies you've already seen (a lot of reactors are not as good actors as they think they are.😆) Not a military person but I think the reason they attacked the fort the way they did was to be as big a distraction to the confederacy as possible that would allow the Navy to take them, which is why they just ran up on them in the daytime and didn't wait at night. They were never meant to be victorious.
scatter shot was called cannister. think of a large tomato can filled with with at least 27 lead maybe more balls packed in sawdust and nails. It could be double packed and would shot gun a blast 400 yards wide. At Pickets Charge a 5 gun Yankee battery loaded double cannister waited for the rebs to come within 10 yards and cleared the line in front them.
An amazing truth to this story is of Robert Shaw, and how it's based on his letters. The idea to have the officers take no pay was actually his, I believe, as he was disgusted with the notion of his troops getting less pay. And yeah, I've been hit with bigotry, for being Jewish. Just mockery, the instant "I'm better than you" attitude that people get, like we're just entertainment. The thing is, I'm also white, so I don't get it nearly as often as any POC, but I almost aggressively put it out there to draw out the bigots.
Exactly the old days and ways created greatness and icons etc. it lit fires in people. Something lacking severely today. We’re all the same. Everyone gets a trophy blah blah blah
Hey all! I've started a new dedicated movie reaction channel, check it out if you want to see any of my movie reactions going forward: www.youtube.com/@mikewatchesstuff
Excellent reaction, sir. Fun fact: the racist soldier who almost got in the fight with Trip and then yelled "Give'em hell, 54th" is the screenwriter Kevin Jarre.
Cool, Mr. Anderson👍 Might as well give himself some screen time
Wow. I didn't know that, Thanks!
“white boys dying by the thousands, dying for you fool”. i know i dug the graves. what a line
“We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies,” he wrote, “among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company-what a body-guard he has!” The Quote from his father about the remains of his son, Col. Shaw.🇺🇸
its easy to put 21st century into what was done correctly or not. robert gould shaw is an underestimated and unappreciated hero. love the reaction im subscribing now
And you can't have a 2022 mindset with these period pieces.
*Fantastic* reaction, Mike. Please do more film. Your intelligence and grace are a breath of fresh air.
First VHS I ever bought as a kid was Glory. Can't honestly say exactly why...but I watched it over and over and got misty eyed every time.
Holy Shit
Hey brother thanks for the kind comment, and for your other comment on the Killing Fields reaction as well! I really appreciate that. Sounds like that's a solid first VHS to own! Now don't go thinking I'm all intelligent, sometimes I enjoy reacting to brain dead horror movies that require no thought lol
@@Yeedeed I'd _love_ to see you react to some silly horror movies. As long as the film's not mean-spirited ( _too_ much is, 'course) Horror is the tops and it'd be *FUN* to watch "with" you. I can recommend...but then any fool on the internet can fill the anymouse box with dumb recs. I'm likely a fool too, no way to tell. Any favorites, Mike?
Wow!!! This is one of the best reactions I've seen to any genre of movies... Brilliant!!!
Really enjoyed this reaction. I saw this in the theater when it first came out and it was extremely powerful. The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens at 24 Beacon Street, Boston (at the edge of the Boston Common).
I did too with my late uncle and his son, my cousin, Mr. Bryce. It was a very well done and acted film. What a tragic ending for many of them guys and Colonel Shaw / Major Forbes
This is one of my favorite films. It's cool seeing a veteran's take on it.
Fun note, the guy waving the flag at the top of the wall is a representation of the first African American to earn the Medal of Honor, he lived.
Much of the script was based on Col. Shaw's own letters to his mother, this (along with Gettysburg) is considered one of the most accurate American Civil War films yet made.
Ultimately, Fort Wagner was abandoned by the Confederacy, following weeks of shelling.
The 54th went on to other deeds, but this remains their most famous
Another, less well known early unit of African Americans was the Louisiana Native Guard, the 1st and 3rd lead similar assaults in the Siege of Port Hudson. Unfortunately, they were even less successful than the 54th...
I should interject a few things. It's a great movie, but there are inaccuracies for dramatic licence:
1. The 54th were not housed in tents, they were in wooden barracks with adequate clothing. They also had a minimum reading requirement.
2. Flogging at this point had been banned by the Army, and even when it was allowed, the punishment would have applied to any soldier, white or black. As he went AWOL during wartime, this bumps it up to desertion, for which the death penalty could apply. Given a choice, I think flogging would have been the better option.
3. It was actually Shaw himself to revolted against the unfair pay.
4. The treatment of Col. Montgomery is pretty egregious. He didn't own slaves, he was a Jayhawker who was a virulent and fervent abolitionist, who with Harriet Tubman, freed 700 slaves from the Combahee Ferry. The scorched earth policy was commanded by Gen Hunter (who is the real baddie). He was ordered to burn Darien (though Shaw did oppose this and in his letters to his wife Annie expressed shame and disappointment in the action.) Montgomery did express his views for the reason about having civilians and soldiers alike experience the horrors of war, and the "sweeping" comment is true (as noted in Shaw's letter), but Shaw didn't want to be an Avenging Angel.
Oh, I should note it was Union policy for this kind of extreme action at the time. Also, the "contraband" were made up of both freemen and former slaves, just like the 54th. They were the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and they went on to battle at Ft Wagner as well. This is my major beef against the movie (being a war historian as I am). Gen Hunter truly is the baddie of the two, and he was subsequently removed from his post after the actions at Darien. Montgomery, a complex man, but was a moral man on the whole. Oh, and he never wore a straw hat, he was from Ohio and moved briefly to Kentucky before Kansas.
www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2004summer_dirck.pdf
Sgt. William Carney. In the actual battle, he picked up the flag. He was shot multiple times, but he made it all the way back. "The old flag never touched the ground, boys," he said before collapsing. He survived the war, was promoted to sergeant, and became the first African American soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor, in 1900.
What an excellent review. I really enjoyed you adding some context to the movie. This is one of my top 25 movies and I have seen it countless times. Also I appreciate your service; thank you sincerely.
In those days rank could be purchased, commissioned or even awarded by politicians.
Individual states would form their own regiments and assign their own officers, even uniform standards could vary wildly. After the Civil war they reformed the Army to be more centralized to the Federal Government and more uniform in training and ranks.
As for the Sargent Major, notice that he was very capable of extreme physical violence to shock or to make a point, but immediately after switches to quiet commiseration or quiet praise to show the soldier that it's not personal.
Also Sargent William Carney, the soldier that inspired Morgan Freeman's character was the first Black soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that rallied the regiment and saved the regimental colors during the Battle of Fort Wagner.
This era in American military history is pretty interesting.
Many States still have their own Militias, even outside of the National Guard.
My grandfather was in a New Jersey National Guard regt. in 1917. The regular army was tiny, so Nat'l Guardsmen were sent in the early deployment in France, assuming they had some military training. Actually, they were completely green, since the only things they ever did was marching in the 4th of July parade. They were nationalized and became the 113th US Inf., but never had sufficient training for modern warfare. They went into battle in 1918, but were as green as the 1914 French volunteers had been. They suffered enormous losses.
Heyo, I'm mid reaction right now, but really enjoying it. I love this flick and just wanted to see what others thought, and yeah, really liking the insight and commentary.
100% thank you for your service as well, gotta say that.
What people don't understand about the flogging scene...this was the standard punishment for any soldier who had gone AWOL, or left the encampment without permission. But during wartime (as this was), the AWOL charge would have been automatically upgraded to desertion, which was punishable by death by firing squad. And if it had been the firing squad, the execution would have been carried out in front of the entire assembled regiment, as a lesson to the others. Whether to impose the flogging or the execution as punishment for desertion was left up to the discretion of the commanding officer. The thing is...this was not about race. This was the standard military punishment at the time-a white soldier would have gotten the exact same punishment for the same offense.
Thanks for the comment! So at least for my part, I completely understand that flogging was standard back then. I'm sorry if I might not have said it clearly on that part of the movie, but I was trying to express that in light of the history of African Americans, they should have broken protocol and used a different corporal punishment to be considerate of their history. But on the other hand I also know it was a different time, and we're only today consciously considerate about such sensitivities.
@@Yeedeed The other part I noticed was when Thomas was wounded in the shoulder in the first battle...Not buying it. If a .58 caliber soft lead bullet, traveling at a comparably low muzzle velocity, hits you square in the shoulder like where he got hit, he's pretty much guaranteed to lose that arm.
That's awful 😮@@Salguine
I know, and he wouldn't have had to wait for the surgeon to remove it, either.
I always assumed his decision to flog Denzel's character was because it the only punishment alternative he had short of actually shooting him for desertion.
It must have been disturbing for Shaw to flog Trip on another level, because he came from an abolitionist family, a cause for which he was willing to give his life. Here he was forced to whip another man.
@@kais.1684 Never thought about it like that, but yeah that must've made it even worse for him.
The scene of Colonel Shaw firing the pistol as that private attempted to load and fire is an excellent example of the concept of "train as you fight". Use to play the scene on occasion to develop that mindset in young soldiers.
While 23 was a young colonel even by American Civil War standards, keep in mind that Custer was a major general at 23. Shaw was selected due to his high educational and social standing, as well as a very good combat record. Custer was a very rare commodity as a professional soldier (West Point graduate). With the high turnover rate due to death, wounding, disease, and obvious incompetence amongst officers, promotions were greatly accelerated.
Also keep in mind that in this era (up to and including WWI), there was little in the way of formal officer training aside from West Point (ROTC, OCS and other things came later) and officers were often drawn from the ranks with high education and status. This also explains why there was little in the way of formal leadership training for officers: Leadership was seen as a quality that men of these backgrounds naturally possessed because of said backgrounds. As is normal, this worked out to a degree, but not always.
Not surprisingly so, Mr. Baker. There were 20 year old Union & Confederate majors in The Civil War leading battalions of troops
When fighting with muzzle loaders, line formations are the best tactic. It may look suicidal but it offers the most firepower and holds ground. Normally skirmishers shield the line infantry however at Antietam, the battle during the beginning of the film the Union Army of the Potomac was too green and disjointed to use them effectively in such a big battle. They still forced the rebels back out of Maryland making it a Union victory however. Robert E Lee lost 25% of his army and barely escaped. It was a disaster for the rebels.
Line battles were the best tactic for Smooth Bore Muzzles Loaders. By this period however, the world had moved on to Rifled Muskets.. Accuracy could now be attained without firing Volleys..
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon Nope, Rifled muskets don't load any faster and have a parabolic trajectory from 75-200 yards. So you still had to close within smooth bore range because A. Until mid 63 both sides were using smoothbores and you had to fight at the range of your shortest ranged muskets . and B. Neither military enforced accuracy training. When Sherman finally ordered it in 64 for his department he didn't even specify how many minne bullets needed to be used during training. In other words rifling really didn't change anything during the war.
I never said anything about loading speed.
Not all Rifled Muskets used minie bullets, but patched undersized ball to engage the rifling. Rifled muskets had an effective range of 4-600 yards.
And yes, I’m aware neither side enforced ‘accuracy” (marksmanship) training.. (This is also a mark in my point’s favor, btw.) They did however train in firing accuracy. They did not simply point a musket in a vague direction and fire wildly..
The world knew of the accuracy of rifled muskets for centuries. As I’ve previously mentioned, using undersized patched ball cartridges (paper cartridges, consisting of a pre measured powder charge and patched ball) was common long before the 1860s, before the Minie became more available, and they were plenty accurate.
Also, using a single tactic with an assortment of weaponry and undercutting the effectiveness of one’s rifles is a bad strategy..
you keep making points in My favor yet saying ‘you’re wrong”..
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon Nope, your wrong. there was no school of rifle accuracy. Troops who enlistested were not taught that. They didn't use patched bullets in the Civil War. they had standardization the industrial revolution. No, West Point did not teach rife accuracy and the Generals who fought in the Civil War learned in the Mexican War. They used Smoothbores in that war btw. You really have no understanding of American military history. The manual of arms didn't even teach accuracy.
@@Beuwen_The_Dragon You're just making bullshit up. I suggest you read "The Rifled Musket in Civil War Combat Reality versus reality." and Civil War infantry Combat Tactics, training, combat and small unit tactics" by Earl J Hess. Then I suggest you buy both a smoothbore and rifled musket and test them yourself like I have.
The statue of the 54th is in front of the State House in Boston.
Rawlins wears 2 Stripes when he's promoted to Sergeant Major, so he was promoted to that rank from Corporal. Still a big leap, but he was already in an NCO role and hence deemed suitable for the task at hand.
In 33 yrs. I still can't get pass "GIVE'M HELL 54TH" Before I get emotional. Broderick's "WARGAMES" as a young kid is quite a performance and launch his career as a serious actor.
I can't get enough.
I also love how the Sergeant Major and First Sergeants get to walk around like the officers. They are part of the command team.
Some context to the battle for Fort Wagner. Only the 54th and another regiment made into the fort before being repelled.
Major Cabot was a composite character, and the men he is based off survived the battle. One of them took over the 54th after Col. Shaw's death.
Sgt. Major Rawlins is based on Fredick Douglass' son who was the real Sgt. Major, who also survived the battle.
Fort Wagner's garrison size was under-estimated, they thought around 1000 troops were defending, it was closer to 1700.
The union shelled the fort for hours prior to the assault both by sea and by land(including 10 inch seige mortars). The fort had a bombardment proof shelter that the confederate troops hid in and were relatively safe.
British soldiers of the time were toasted all the time. Floggings were normal for breaches of discipline. Deserters were hanged. The prisoner was lucky to live.
This one always makes me cry a little during the final battle.
We can't judge 18th century 19th century America by today's standards.Slavery was an institution practiced all over the world not just in this country .
You don't understand that things were different then, hell they're different from when I was a boy.
The 54th Massachusetts was the 2nd colored regiment, not the first. The reason then Captain Shaw says they made him captain was that in those days, the officers in a unit were elected by the unit. This practice even continued thru WWI. President Harry Truman was himself “elected” by his unit to be their Captain. At the party, 9:53, Cary Elways character “Forbes” was wearing the rank insignia of a 2nd Lieutenant. There was no “Butter Bar” for that rank’s insignia back then. You just received a blank Officer’s tab. You then received the traditional silver Lieutenant’s bar upon promotion and it was added to the officer’s tab.
One of the very best war movies.
Hey brother you took my suggestion! Sincerely appreciate it! More tho Thankyou for your service!
I used to listen to this soundtrack to go to bed when I was a kid . Beautiful. I’ve been really sick hopefully not Covid ? But been watching your movie reactions to help pass the miserable time while missing my daughters so just wanted to say thanks brother, your channel is awesome and deserves the growth.
The movie dosen't show it, but the 54th Massachusetts was actually supported by two other Union brigades during the assault on Fort Wagner. However, if memory serves me right, the other regiments did not reach as far as the 54th, since heavy enemy artillery fire prevented them from advancing further and supporting the 54th.
Btw, if you liked this movie and are interested in watching more Civil War related films, then I suggest watching Gettysburg.
Excellent reaction vid. I really enjoyed your text additions.
I saw this when it was released, and it prompted me to read one of the two books on which the film based. That statue you wondered about at the end of the film really is one of Shaw and the 54th. The book, “One Gallant Rush” was written by Peter Burchard after he saw that statue and noticed that the soldiers were African American, which made him curious what the story behind it was. It’s funny how little things like that can ultimately lead to us knowing this incredible, and mostly historically accurate, story.
As for Shaw being so young for his rank, social standing and family connections used to play a vastly greater role in assigning rank and granting promotions, and it was sincerely believed (and in civilian life, to a lesser degree, it still is today, as I’m sure you are well aware) that one’s family and status actually reflected character and ability. Plus, of course, war has a rather direct way of creating opportunities for rapid advancement.
My only additions would be my admiration for the soundtrack and score, which, even though I saw this movie about 30 years ago, I never forgot, and to mention one shot in the last act I don’t think you included - Shaw I think still on his mount just before he set him free to run the beach - he takes a moment to look out over the water and you can just see he’s thinking he’ll never see the ocean again. It was, for me, one of the many, many moments in the final act that really grabbed me emotionally, particularly when I remembered it after the film was over.
Your text bit about Shaw’s father saying it was an honor for his son to be buried alongside his men…I didn’t remember that from the book, but that was very powerful on so many levels. God that says so much right there. Thank you for including it.
There have been some minor but valid criticisms about Glory being very much from a white person’s point of view. I’m on the fence about that though. I do think it has just a bit too much of the White Savior vibe, but only a bit. Shaw’s letters, after all, were a major source of the narrative framework. And the film does spend a great deal of time with the whole cast. Maybe there is another film to be made about the 54th, but Glory doesn’t suffer too much from it’s narrow perspective. Besides, nobody wins a best supporting Oscar by disappearing into the background, and neither Washington or Freeman ever accept characters that demean or diminish them beyond realistic social or historical contexts.
Fantastic job on this video! Along with those great text additions, you manage to display enough of the actual film such that we can easily follow. Really, really well done
I truly appreciated your reaction! It says a lot about your sense of awareness in how you were able to understand Private Trip's perspective and the source of his anger and resentment. This movie did something that I've rarely seen done in with movies set during the timeframe of American slavery. That is that the characters, both black and white are not one note. I'm so used to seeing the white characters being either only bigoted or benevolent. Then the black characters are written almost only as a sympathetic figure. That's not how real people are. These characters each had their own personalities and were truly fleshed out. We saw so much growth and development from certain characters. Even the guy who ended up saying, "Give 'em hell, 54th!" was powerful because we saw what he did and said in his first scene.
The Battle of Antietam ("an-tee'-tum"), also known as Sharpsburg, in Maryland, was the single, bloodiest day in the entire American Civil War.
3:17 Yep, the National Association of Baseball Players was formed in 1857, about 10 years prior to the Civil War.
45:02 I absolutely love this assessment. You are totally right. However, the point Colonel Shaw is making isn’t to win or even to survive. It’s to show that he and his men will not falter at any challenge regardless of how daunting. If his regiment proves itself in combat, in life or death they stand as an awesome example for what anyone can accomplish when given a real chance.
Thank you for appreciating GLORY 😂😂😂😂😂😂😥😥😥
Great Reaction, even more so from a veteran with Military experience.
over this matter.
At 6:14 he has double bars on his shoulders to show he's a Captain.
On the matter of Tripp's punishment, Shaw was limited to what he could issue out.
1.He had no military prison available to him - that came later n the Civil War.
2.Tripp had little to no money- so he can't fine him.
3.Shooting him would really demoralize the whole Regiment.
In the end, Flogging him was the only option to him to maintain discipline
Other Forces at the time Flogged their personnel. The Royal Navy in the 19th Century Flogged their sailors for was much as spitting on the deck ( spitting on the ship = spitting at the King , hence Royal Naval vessel called H.M.S - His Majesty Ship). The British Army at the Time Flogged their soldiers for as much as being asleep or drunk on duty.
All in all, in some way Tripp may have got off lightly for AWOL/ desertion.
I think Rawlins was a Corporal with his 2 strips at 31:25 - but thats still a jump, but I feel his maturity, also his ability to read and write helped as well. Adding to that I think that they only had 5 levels of enlisted ranks during the Civil War not like the modern U.S. Army.
fortconcho.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Military-Rank-for-19th-century-army.pdf
When I was a little girl in the early seventies Morgan Freeman was on a children's educational show called Electric Company. He wore purple and red and had a big beautiful Afro. He helped me learn to read. I still love him for that ☮️🌹❤️
Omg you’re doing this movie?! Wow. This movie hits me as it does you. It’s such a good and a monumental movie.
The plaque in the credits is located in Boston in the Commons
The last shot of Shaw and Trip sharing a grave represents, that "in death we are all equals".
Shaw being a young white educated man from the upper class bourgeoisie, and Trip being a black flogged and runaway slave.
Those tactics were not the product of stupidity, or recklessness. They knew rifling technology had progressed and muskets and cannon had become far more accurate, but it didn't matter. Basically all those things that we modern folk think they should've been doing in combat in the 19th century, they simply couldn't do. They didn't have anything resembling modern battlefield communication. Everything had to be done by either word of mouth, bugle and drum, or courier. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that a Civil War battle of any real size quickly became a den of noise and black powder smoke, making it very difficult to both hear and see things much further than a couple of yards. Put simply, "close order" tactics were the only viable tactics available for maintaining unit cohesion, and would remain so until the advent of the radio much later. If they had tried spreading out, they would've quickly lost track of each other. Even in WW1 when crude radio tech was coming onto the seen, they still found themselves having to move in formations that would be deemed far too close by today's standards, and that was often against machine guns. Coincidentally this is also why night fighting was so rare in those days; too easy to lose track of one another.
Napoleonic tactics...they believed that to mass your fire, you had to mass your men.
The weapons exceeded the tactics. 48 caliber, soft lead bullets that flattened out when it hit. They caused massive wounds, not like modern, steel jacketed bullets that go through the body. The wounds were horrific, and that's why there were so many amputations.
Despite casualties that ran as high as 50% in battles, most deaths in the Civil War, were from disease. Dysentery, small pox, pneumonia and infections took thousands of lives.
I've read some of Shaw's letters home. He was eloquent, spiritual, and wholly committed to freedom...for all Americans.
There are photos of the 54th at a reunion, years after the war. They are old men, but they proudly display their regimental flag. It's torn, and bloody, but it's there in all it's Glory!
This film is special...the cast is brilliant, but Morgan Freman...his performance is nuanced, yet powerful.
Thank you for sharing this film. It's an important moment in America's history.
I don't think flogging would have been seen as anything unusual back then.
To a modern audience, it's striking, but all kinds of people were whipped for all kinds of reasons back then
And racial slurs were as normal as breathing air back then.
Inhumane, nonetheless.
@@Panamaschild ehh... that's arguable. Any punishment could be called "inhumane." That's kinda the point. I'd argue that 10 minutes of public shaming, which actually corrects behavior, is far more humane than 20 years in jail, which doesn't really achieve anything.
Insignias back then are the same as army dress uniform insignias now.
Excellent reaction! Absolutely loved everything about it. This is one of my all time favorite movies. I’ve never seen your channel before, and I’m so glad I found it. I love how you didn’t chop up the movie and have your face as the picture instead. How you didn’t try to condense it to 25 minutes. I literally loved and appreciated everything. Subbed and will look out for other reactions.
I don’t know if you’ve seen or reacted to Tombstone, and/or, Crimson Tide, The Last Samurai. I would love to see your reaction to any or all if you’re interested.
Thank you!
That is a volunteer regiment. Colonels were appointed by the state's governor, a political appointment. Colonels picked their subbordinate officers.
*They (54th) weren't* disbanded or rolled over to other units. They fought next year in the Battle of Olustee in Florida.
The Last Samurai was directed by the same man and has a number of similar scenes. As much as I love Glory, I think I like The Last Samurai even more.
Our great nation has a very ugly past. Unfortunately, it has a very ugly present as well.
Also the funny thing about 24:50 is that they would do this to white soldiers. Did I say funny?
He was that young! And I’ve been in the south and that just doesn’t happen for the large part.
As said here there were several problems in this era 1- Communication was hard, 2- Rifles with range were very expensive and only reserved for sharpshooters, 3-Discipline, we can't forget most men were conscripts not volunteers and most regiments had little combat training. I understand we say today it was stupid but technology simply wasn't on par with war back then
had the honor to meet the great-great grand daughter of the color Sargent this movie is built around. he was mayor of his community after the war and a school is named after him as well as being represented under the statue of col. Shaw on the pedestal. lives in Hamden,Ct
I have never been called a racial slur in the USA but when I taught in Taiwan I got some Gweilo comments and it doesn't feel great, worse when they spit at your feet. Very strange considering I'm half Taiwanese. The Chappelle "hey that's racist joke" is right. I wasn't even mad, just stunned.
About the insignia: modern dress blue uses exactly the same officer rank straps as were worn then. About $13 a month--by World War Two, it had only gone to $50, in spite of actual cost of living.
Baseball developed into a game similar to today's baseball during this war. It was based on Rounders an older bat and ball game from Britain or Ireland. It's said it was created by General Abner Doubleday but that has been proven to be inaccurate.
They would actually sabtogue their own cannon if they knew they would be captured.
They'd drive a spike into the breech hole.
It couldn't be repaired.
I will say though sir in your assessment at the 5:00 mark. Fighting wasn't stupid then. Switch your perception the attackers. They missed most of the time. Everyone is jittery, it's completely chaotic. But the isn't a different way.
In those days you can't do anything to the enemy unless you're close. You can't sneak around either. They will greet you. You have to fight head on this days. And Pray to God you win.
You have to hope to BREAK THAT LINE
Forbes didn't say anything racist
The reason the rest of the Union Army didn't attack with them was because the terrain only allowed for a single regiment to advance at a time. In truth, Fort Wagner was almost certainly impossible to take without the use of numerous Union regiments, hence why the Union only took possession of the fort when the Confederates abandoned it. It's also worth mentioning that while the 54th proved their bravery and valor 1000x over, they sadly never breached the walls as shown in the film (Which is dramatized for obvious reasons.) If they had, the other Union troops would have advanced in support as the Confederates would have little hope of driving off the Union troops at that point. Col. Shaw was killed in a similar fashion though (Shot and killed on a parapet while rallying his men onwards).
Denzel won his first Oscar for this
Thank you so much for your reaction and analysis of the film. I appreciate your veteran's perspective.
If you can, of love it off you can review the 1946 film "The Best Years of Our Lives" about WW2 vets reintegrating to society after service.
The navy could soften up a fort in those days, but the enemy could always repair the walls at a faster rate than the available cannon could destroy them, for the most part.
I went to Ulysses S Grant Magnet School, emphasis on us military brats which i am. In elementary school we were required to give a book report every 2 weeks, in the library there were these certain books w/ a red tape on the binder (scheduled to be banned by state legislature). The book was The Letters of Robert Gould Shaw, photocopied letters Shaw wrote to his mom during his entire tenure as Colonel of the 54th. Why this was banned is beyond me, it changed my life and even though i never served myself I still try to live up to Shaw's image to fight for a free world.
Not from PFC, he was taken from CPL to SGM. Still, hell of a promotion. Also love the aspect the old US Army uniforms had. The different branch colors we see nowadays on the shoulder straps for officers, yeah that was the same for the Chevrons back then. If you earned a service stripe (or even overseas stripe) in the Cav, it would stay gold if you went infantry. So, it was pretty common to see a mini rainbow for those seasoned soldiers that went in different places in the army. Closest thing we got to it now is when you see a Cav Scout serving in an infantry unit and they have the respective hat cords.
The soundtrack is incredibly emotional. Made even more sad knowing James Horner died.
Antietam- there was a 5hr period were they averaged 1 casualty every second.
Baseball- Major General Abner Doubleday had a major influence with the rules of the game.
Warfare- Napoleonic/ linear warfare was designed around the mid 1600’s. Vast majority of the Generals on both sides were heavily influenced by the Napoleonic wars (45 years prior).
You have to be hard on them. It's going to be way more difficult than anything that was done during training.
Antietam was a Union victory although you could almost miss that from the battle scene.
Military:Hey man we make you walk at incoming fire.
Carey Elwes:I'm gonna lit one up
Military:Fair enough
sadly not too long ago the do gooders tried to get the 54th mass monument that you see at the end of the movie removed claiming racism as Col shaw was on his horse while his troops marched claiming it was putting the white man above the blackman and all that crap. if you haven't done it yet "Gettysburg" would be another great movie to do but it's a long 1.
It's an omnipresent, shape-shifting symbiotic creature that finds many hosts! 👊🏾
Great reaction Brother! one of my favorite movies from childhood. Inspiring movie about brave and honorable men. The Navy did assist with bombardment until the 54th got within 150 yards of the fort. at which time the fort opened up with cannon and rifle fire..... random suggestions havent checked your entire playlist yet. "Hacksaw Ridge" "Heat" "Sicario" "Gangs of New York" "The Revenant" "Apocalypto' good breakdowns of movies id like to hear your take on these keep up the great work
A great book on this -- "Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw"
That was the souths most fortified base, thousands were lost and the 45 knew and they told it was suicide, they needed someone to make a big enough dent to send larger union forces. Union struck soon after.
The whipping scene is 100% Major Forbes' fault. He was standing in full assembly, calling his Colonel, "Robert", and basically commanding him not to do the whipping. He put Shaw in the position of having no option but to whip Trip or look as if the chain of command has broken down. I imagine Shaw would have relieved Forbes of duty had they not grown up together. Any other Colonel would.
Unfortunately line formations were necessary for the officers to convey orders to the troops, not until the advent of the field radios were line formations ultimately unnecessary .
Give em Hell 54th!
Morgan Freeman was a corporal, PFC didn't exist yet. He would be skipping 5 ranks to master SGT. He would be Shaw's link to the other sergeants. It wasn't uncommon for a regimental colonel to meet with all of his first sergeants away from company level officers to hear straight from the horses mouth.
Damn he looks good for 39
39:59 Yes, David Hunter was indeed a 2-star:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hunter
This is the best movie ever made!
That's the same insignia for Captain as is used today, two bars.
In the 70s growing up my Dr smoked cigars In the hospital right after my surgery so I didn't notice them smoking in the movie
I'm 44 now. This hits hard if you're infantry or just American
I've seen this movie more time's that I can remember, & even though I know the ending? I'm always roofing for them. Unfortunately Fort Wagner was never taken & the confederates abandoned it later on. When an inquiry was made about Col. Shaw's body? His patents said there could be no better place for him, then to be among his brave soilders. I'm para frarising but I think I'm pretty close to the actual quote.
Denzel one his first Oscar for his supporting role in Glory
Personally, I prefer this movie to Private Ryan. Just my opinion. Stellar cast, writing, music, direction.☮️
Nothing wrong with that, this movie is a masterpiece. I think my love for SPR is also tied into sentimentality as well. I saw it as a kid (too young to be watching stuff like that, but hey) and I processed emotions differently then. The way I felt when I saw it as a kid, I've never really had too many feelings like it when seeing other films
@@Yeedeed I feel the same way about One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ☮️😅
I believe there was a navel blockade preventing the Union Navy from getting closer ( the Union Navy at this time also wasn't very strong)
We went down standing up ☮️
Thank you for watching this reaction!
@@Yeedeed ✌️😉👍
This a fantastic reaction though you had me when you were honest about not reacting to movies you've already seen (a lot of reactors are not as good actors as they think they are.😆) Not a military person but I think the reason they attacked the fort the way they did was to be as big a distraction to the confederacy as possible that would allow the Navy to take them, which is why they just ran up on them in the daytime and didn't wait at night. They were never meant to be victorious.
scatter shot was called cannister. think of a large tomato can filled with with at least 27 lead maybe more balls packed in sawdust and nails. It could be double packed and would shot gun a blast 400 yards wide. At Pickets Charge a 5 gun Yankee battery loaded double cannister waited for the rebs to come within 10 yards and cleared the line in front them.
Glory & Casulties of war are my favorite War movies
An amazing truth to this story is of Robert Shaw, and how it's based on his letters. The idea to have the officers take no pay was actually his, I believe, as he was disgusted with the notion of his troops getting less pay.
And yeah, I've been hit with bigotry, for being Jewish. Just mockery, the instant "I'm better than you" attitude that people get, like we're just entertainment. The thing is, I'm also white, so I don't get it nearly as often as any POC, but I almost aggressively put it out there to draw out the bigots.
Do Gettysburg next, another legendary civil war film!
Yes, it was a suicide mission. Thats what made it epic.
Exactly the old days and ways created greatness and icons etc. it lit fires in people. Something lacking severely today. We’re all the same. Everyone gets a trophy blah blah blah