A large crowd stood shivering, waiting. A macabre sense of stillness filled the air. They were about to witness the only public execution in the history of Shelby County. Alfred Artis would be put to death for killing his twelve year old daughter, Emma. Somewhere in the crowd must have been his brother. Elias Artis was a young black man from Van Buren Township. He was a farmer by trade, as was Alfred. Elias was 22 years old. One can imagine the sense of shame and humiliation he felt as Sheriff J.C. Dryden and Deputy Christian Kingseed dragged the struggling prisoner to the gallows. In a few minutes it was all over. Afterward, Elias returned to farming. Eight years passed. Many of his neighbors, all white, had gone off to fight the Rebels in the Civil War. No Negroes were wanted for the cause.

In the spring of 1863, word began to circulate that a recruiter would be passing through to sign up Negroes to fight for the Union. History unfortunately does not record the thoughts that raced through Elias's mind when he heard the news. Was this his chance to clear his family's name? Was he determined to prove that members of his race were just as brave, and loved their country just as much as their white neighbors?

Although Elias was married at the time, and 30 years old, he made the decision to leave Shelby County and join the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Fellow farmer Hezekiah Stewart also agreed to serve. He was single and 19 years old - about the average for a Civil War soldier. Both men received a state bounty, or sign up bonus of $50.

The chances are great that neither man had ever previously traveled outside the county. Now they were bound for a far away place called Massachusetts.  Along the way, they most likely met five men from Carthagena, a black community in Mercer County, who had also volunteered. They would all be assigned to Company D. Benjamin Hogan and Cato Chaney from that group were also farmers.

The men were officially enlisted on May 13, 1863 in Boston. Their understandable fears about a hostile reception must have been quickly dissipated. Captain Luis Emilio, who wrote a history of the 54th after the war, recalled the scene: "All along the route the sidewalks, windows and balconies were thronged with spectators and the appearance of the regiment caused repeated cheers and the waving of flags. Only hearty greetings were encountered; not an insulting word was heard or an unkind remark made."

The parade ended in front of a reviewing stand containing Frederick Douglass, the fiery orator and champion of antislavery views. His views on the use of Negroes in the war effort were also well known. "Who would be free themselves must strike the blow," he thundered. "I urge you to fly to arms and smite to death the power that would bury the government and your liberty in the same hopeless grave."  He is credited with personally persuading Lincoln to support a new militia law allowing the enlistment of "persons of African descent" as needed "for the suppression of the Rebellion."

The courage of black soldiers in battle had been established during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. America, however, had a short memory. Now, Elias Artis and the others would be asked to prove their mettle again.

All of the officers of the 54th were white, as required by the Militia Act. Governor Andrews appointed dashing, young Colonel Robert Gould Shaw to command the troops. When the 54th left Boston aboard the steamer Demolay, Frederick Douglass was at the pier waving until the ship slipped from sight.

Although they would soon fight along side white soldiers, their pay would not be the same. Artis, Stewart and the others were paid $10 per month less the cost of clothing, and white soldiers received $13 plus clothing costs. Col. Shaw said his men would refuse pay until they were treated equally. One soldier said it more succinctly: "Do we not take up the same length of ground in the grave yard?" Elsewhere, the pay dispute caused black sergeant William Walker to order his men to stack their arms because they would "not do duty any longer." Walker was executed for mutiny.

The regiment attracted not former slaves, but the finest black men the North had to offer. Wiley Jordan from Carthagena and William Hall of Lima, both members of Company D along with Artis and Stewart, were engineers. Men from both the U.S. and Canada joined, even though the Confederate Congress responded to the passage of the Militia Act by ordering that black soldiers captured in battle, along with their white officers, would be executed. Any former slaves would be sold back into slavery.

On June 10, most of the 54th was loaded up for an "expedition" to Darien, Georgia. Upon their arrival, the men noticed that the town had been abandoned. Col. Montgomery, Col. Shaw's superior, ordered that the town be burned. Col. Shaw later recalled that Montgomery said Darien must be burned because "the Southerners must be made to feel that this was a real war, and that they were to be swept away by the hand of God like the Jews of old." Shaw spoke for his men when he recalled: "When it comes to being made the instrument of the Lord's vengeance, I myself don't like it."

In light of such a distasteful experience, Col. Shaw wanted action. After the Darien campaign, his men were kept busy loading and unloading ships. During the first week of July, 1863 Shaw wrote "I feel very much disappointed" about the inactivity of his regiment. He also complained to his superior. He would soon get his wish.

In the mind of the northern strategists, the key to the eventual capture of Charleston, South Carolina was a successful assault on Fort Wagner, which was built on one of a string of islands outside Charleston. The only approach to the heavily fortified structure was from a narrow, sandy beach. Against the advice of other veteran brigade commanders, Col. Shaw's superior ordered the assault. It was July 18, 1863. Shaw's regiment was selected to spearhead a force of three Union brigades. Company D, with Artis and Stewart, would lead the way on the left wing. At a later military inquiry concerning the battle, testimony revealed that Gen. Seymour, the assault commander said: "Well, I guess we will...put those damned niggers from Massachusetts in the advance; we may as well get rid of them one time as another."

Capt. Emilio later remembered the moments before the battle: "Officers had silently grasped one another's hands, brought their revolvers round to the front and tightened their sword-belts. The men whispered last injunctions to comrades and listened for the word of command."

At 7:45 p.m., Artis, Stewart and the others began the 1300 yard charge down the beach and into history. They ran directly into the face of Confederate cannon and the fort's 1,700 protected riflemen (Union military intelligence had estimated a maximum of 300). "Wagner became a mound of fire, from which poured a stream of shot and shell," Emilio remembered.

The gallant men of the 54th fell like grain before a giant scythe. Col. Shaw managed to mount the rampart of the fort with a few of his men. Emilio was there: "He stood there for a moment with uplifted sword, shouting "Forward 54th!" and then fell dead, shot through the heart, besides other wounds." Carthagenian Benjamin Hogan of Company D also died that day. Elias Artis was wounded in the assault. Hezekiah Stewart escaped without injury. Company D had the highest casualty rate in the 54th.

The bravery of the troops of the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner and other battles that would soon follow revolutionized the attitude about colored soldiers in the Union army. One white soldier wrote home to his aunt: "I never more wish to hear the expression "the niggers won't fight."

The severity of Artis' wounds required hospitalization. He was transferred to a hospital in Beaufort, South Carolina. Army records show he recuperated there for seven months. On February 27, 1864, he left the hospital. It is unknown whether or not he ever made it back through a hostile confederacy to Shelby County.

Stewart served with the 54th until the regiment mustered out in Boston on August 20, 1865. There is no record of whether or not he ever made it back home. Neither man ever received the $325 cash reward authorized after the war.

The men of the 54th may not have captured Fort Wagner, but they struck a key blow for freedom. Frederick Douglass spoke for all members of his race when he said: "Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States."

In summing up the significance of the battle of Fort Wagner, the New York Tribune said: "It is not too much to say that if this Massachusetts 54th had faltered when its trial came two hundred thousand troops for whom it was the pioneer would never have been put into the field.....But it did not falter. It made Fort Wagner such a name for the colored race as Bunker Hill has been for ninety years to the white Yankees."