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Browse all Genealogy Gold Podcast EpisodesWilliam Harvey Carney earned the Medal of Honor for protecting the United States flag during the Civil War assault on Fort Wagner. His courage made him one of the best-known soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.
Early Life and the Road to Freedom
Born as a slave in Norfolk, Virginia on February 29, 1840. Over the next several years, many members of his family were either freed by earning enough money to purchase their freedom, or, eventually, by the death of their owner. The records on the method William used to gain his own freedom are contradictory or non-existent, but most sources state he used the Underground Railroad, probably as a teenager, and joined the freed members of his family in Massachusetts.
William learned to read while enslaved in Virginia, where educating enslaved people was restricted. After reaching Massachusetts, he considered a religious vocation. When the Civil War began, he chose to serve in the Union Army.
Joining the Union Army
William enlisted in March 1863 in Company C of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first Black regiments raised in the North. Two sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass also served in the regiment.
Carrying the Flag at Fort Wagner
After a few months of training, William was sent to South Carolina with his regiment. There, on July 18, 1863, William and his regiment led a charge on Fort Wagner. The unit’s Color Guard was shot during the battle, and William, being just a few feet away at the time, ran to grab the American flag from the falling soldier.
William was seriously injured during his attempt to save the flag, being shot several times himself. Still, he refused to let the flag touch the ground, and managed to keep it aloft while he crawled to the top of the hill, where the walls of Fort Wagner stood. Any member of his regiment he saw along the way, he urged to follow him.
When he reached the fort, William planted the flag in the sand at the base of the fort and continued to make sure it was held upright until he was rescued. Witnesses say he was almost dead when he was found, and still holding the flag up so it wouldn’t touch the ground.
Even when he was rescued, he kept holding onto it, refusing to let his rescuers touch it. William held onto the American flag until he was brought to the temporary barracks of the Union army, where he finally relinquished it to another soldier.
William survived his wounds, but the July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner ended in a Union defeat. His bravery in carrying the flag through the fighting became an enduring part of the regiment’s history.
Life After the War
He received an honorable discharge from the Army because of his wounds the next year. After the war, William went back to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and found a job maintaining the street lights of the city. Afterward, he became a mail carrier, a job he held for thirty-two years. He became a founding Vice-President of the New Bedford Branch Eighteen of the National Association of Letter Carriers in 1890.
He went on to marry Susannah Williams, and together, they had a daughter, Clara Heronia Carney.
The Medal of Honor
William received the Medal of Honor in May 1900. Other Black servicemen received the medal earlier, but his July 1863 action was the earliest for which a Black serviceman earned it. His deed is therefore the earliest recognized by the award.
The citation for his Medal of Honor reads:
“When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.”
William Harvey Carney after the war, wearing his Medal of Honor (Wikipedia)
Carney’s Later Life and Legacy
William lived out the rest of his life in Massachusetts, except for a few years spent out in California, and died at the Boston City Hospital on December 9, 1908, because of injuries he sustained in an elevator accident at the Massachusetts State House, where he was working for the Department of State. At the request of his wife and daughter, his body lay in state for a day at the Walden Banks funeral home on Lenox Street. He was then buried in the family plot at the Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The Medal of Honor is engraved on his headstone.
Today, an elementary school in New Bedford is named after him, his house in New Bedford is on the National Register of Historic Places.
William’s old regiment was disbanded ages ago but was recalled to duty in 2008. It now serves as a National Guard ceremonial unit that is present at honorary funerals and state events. It also marched in President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade.
Learn More
For a closer look at the evidence and historical context, explore these resources:
You can also read The Unsung Heroes of the Civil War (free eBook) and explore our Civil War records guide.
