Hold the Flag High

In July 1863, a significantbattle in the Civil War was fought. Sergeant William H. Carney, an officer of the newly formed Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment — comprised entirely of African Americans — led his soldiers over the ramparts of Fort Wagner, where Union soldiers charged the Confederates. As the soldiers fought, they gained strength from the stars and stripes of the American flag, Old Glory. It was Carney's vow to never let Old Glory touch the ground, and despite several gunshot wounds, he was able to rescue the flag from the fallen bearer. Carney held the flag high as a symbol that his regiment would never submit to the Confederacy. The battle of Fort Wagner decimated the Fifty-fourth Regiment, but Carney's heroism that night inspired all who survived.

Catherine Clinton's historically precise text paired with Shane Evans's rich illustrations creates a remarkable account of one of the most memorable battles in Civil War history.

Publishers Weekly

A trio of highly visual books help readers imagine the past. Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton, illus. by Shane W. Evans, tells the story of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth regiment, an African-American unit formed in the spring of 1863 during the Civil War. Evans's thickly laid paint portrays the soldiers setting up camp just south of Charleston Bay, S.C., all the way through to a poignant close-up of their brave Sergeant Carney, "one of the few black officers" of the war, carrying Old Glory to point his troop to safety. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Catherine Clinton is the author of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom and Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars. Educated at Harvard, Sussex, and Princeton, she is a member of the advisory committee to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and holds a chair in U.S. history at Queen's University Belfast.