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In the attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, Sergeant Carney was advancing with his regiment when the color sergeant was shot down. Rushing to the flag, Sergeant Carney hoisted it and gallantly led the regiment to the parapet of the fort where he planted it. Within twenty minutes Sergeant Carney and his flag were alone, surrounded only by dead and wounded as the Union troops fell back. As dusk fell Sergeant Carney saw a group of soldiers approaching and, mistaking them for Union forces, raised his flag only to be met with a heavy volley of hostile fire. He wrapped the flag around the staff to protect it, and though wounded repeatedly including a serious wound in his leg, crossed the wide expanse of beach while under continuing enemy fire to bring the colors safely off the field. Before collapsing from his wounds among his surviving and cheering comrades he stated, "Men, I only did my duty. The flag never touched the ground." Also earning Medals of Honor at Fort Wagner were First Sergeant Charles Holton and Private Joseph Hibson. William Carney's action was the first Medal of Honor action by a Black American to merit the Medal of Honor. |
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