William Harvey Carney

Biography

William H. Carney was born as a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 29, 1840. How he made his way to freedom is not certain. According to most accounts, he escaped through the Underground Railroad, and joined his father in Massachusetts. Other members of their family were freed by purchase or by the death of their master.

Carney joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in March 1863 as a Sergeant. He took part in the July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. (The attack on Fort Wagner is depicted in the film Glory.) It was in this attack that Carney's actions ultimately earned him the Medal of Honor. When the color guard was fatally wounded, Carney retrieved the American flag from his comrade and marched forward with it, despite suffering multiple serious wounds. When the Union troops were forced to retreat under fire, Carney struggled back across the battlefield. He eventually made his way back to his own lines and turned over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, modestly saying, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!" Carney received an honorable discharge due to disability (as a result of his wounds) in June 1864.

Later life

After his discharge,William H. Carney returned to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and took a job maintaining the city's streetlights. He married Susannah Williams, and the couple had a daughter, Clara Heronia. Carney spent a few years in California, then returned again in 1869 and began working for the post office as one of the city's four mail carriers. As a public speaker, he addressed veterans' groups and other civic organizations.

Carney did not receive his honor until May 23, 1900, nearly 37 years after the events at Fort Wagner. (More than half such awards from the Civil War were presented 20 or more years after the fact.) At least 25 African Americans have received the Medal of Honor. However, because Carney's battle actions took place earlier in the war than others, he is generally considered to be the first African American to receive this medal. His citation 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.

Carney died at the Boston City Hospital on December 9, 1908, due to complications from an elevator accident at the Massachusetts State House where Carney was employed for the department of state. The body of Carney lay in state for one day at the undertaking rooms of Walden Banks 142 Lenox Street at the wish of his wife and daughter. Sergeant Carney was well known to thousands of Massachusetts school children who heard him tell the story of the action at Fort Wagner from which he coined the phrase "this old flag never touched the ground". He is buried in the family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Engraved on his stone monument is an image of the Medal of Honor.

Other honors and awards

Carney's face is shown on the monument to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th on the Boston Common designed by Augustus Saint Gaudens. A New Bedford, Massachusetts, elementary school was named in his honor, and his New Bedford home at 128 Mill Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2015, Carney was honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "Strong Men & Women in Virginia History," because of his actions during the Civil War.