Historical Moments: Military Contributions of African Americans. Robert Harris

thrown violently against the side of the ship when an enemy shell killed and wounded the six-man crew. Lawson, upon regaining his composure and although wounded, promptly returned to his station and, although urged to go below for treatment, steadfastly continued his duties.

      William H. Carney

      (1840–1908)

      Carney was a sergeant in the army with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. On July 18, 1863, at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, South Carolina, he grasped the American flag and lead the way to the barricade of the fort and planted the colors. When the troops were forced back, he removed the flag under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded. When asked about his heroic actions, he simply said, “I was only doing my duty.”

      Buffalo Soldiers and the Indian Wars

      (1866–1898)

      The 1873 Springfield single-shot carbine. The Army had recognized that a soldier armed with a repeating rifle would expend a large amount of ammunition, so the single shot rifle was adopted to make the soldier more efficient.