Robert Gould Shaw (born October 10, 1837) was one of the most famous colonels of the Civil War. The subject of the movie “Glory,” Shaw led the 54th Massachusetts’s regiment in 1863, one of the first Black regiments to fight in the war. His regiment’s assault on Battery Wagner near Charleston in South Carolina attracted national attention. His death was mourned by many in the North.
While the Shaws came from an elite background in Boston, and Robert died in South Carolina, the family and Robert spent a significant part of their lives in Staten Island, New York. And while we do not know where the colonel’s body lies, there is a “grave” for him on Staten Island. The grave marker is a cenotaph at the Moravian Cemetery. Below is the cenotaph. On its right is the grave of Robert’s sister, the wife of General Francis Barlow.
The cemetery, opened in 1740, has graves of many religions. The Shaws were not Moravians, nor were they “Puritans.” The family attended the Staten Island Unitarian Church at the north end of the island near where the family had a house. Robert’s uncle was a convert to Catholicism and became a priest. He encouraged his nephew to study at the Jesuit school at Fordham. Robert would later attend Harvard, but he left the college without graduating.
The cenotaph was put up by the Shaw family. Robert’s parents were dedicated Abolitionists. When war broke out in 1861, Robert joined the 7th New York State Militia. By May of 1861, Shaw was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. When his regiment’s 90 day enlistment expired, Shaw joined the 2nd Massachusetts regiment and served with that unit through Antietam. Shaw was twice wounded and he was promoted to captain.
When Massachusetts Governor John Andrew began to put forward the idea of his state forming the first Black regiment from a Northern state, the governor set his mind on promoting Shaw to take command of the new regiment. He asked Robert’s father to convey a commission of colonel to Robert Gould Shaw. On February 6, 1863, after some hesitation, he took the commission.
Shaw led his men in an assault on Battery Wagner on July 18, 1863. During the assault, Col. Shaw mounted the parapet of the fort where he was shot three times through the chest. After the battle, the Confederates found Shaw’s body, but they decided to bury him anonymously with the dead Black soldiers as an insult to Shaw. Shaw’s father wrote that “We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers. … We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies, among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company. – what a body-guard he has!”
As you can see on the cenotaph, his family noted that he was killed in South Carolina and is there “buried with his men.”
The back of the cenotaph.
Next to Robert is his sister, Ellen Shaw. She was the wife of General Francis Channing Barlow of “Barlow’s Knoll” at Gettysburg. Barlow was a New Yorker, born in 1834. His father had been the pastor of the Unitarian church in Brooklyn Heights. He had had a a wife, whom he left on his second day of marriage to join the army at the start of the Civil War. His wife Arabella Barlow gave herself to taking care of the wounded and in 1864 she died from typhus. After the war, Barlow served as New York State’s Secretary of State, and Attorney General. He married Ellen Shaw after the war. She was well-known for her support of Black civil rights and her philanthropic activities.
It is interesting to note that when Francis Barlow died on January 11, 1896 in New York, his body was shipped to be buried in Brookline, Mass. where Ellen was from. When Ellen died on January 12, 1936 in Boston, she was not buried with her husband, but instead, she was transported to Staten Island to lay next to her brother’s cenotaph.
The gate of the Moravian Cemetery in Staten Island.
The Barlow and Shaw son.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
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Do you know what year the family put this Cenotaph up?