Hold the Flag High: The True Story of the First Black Medal of Honor Winner

by Catherine Clinton, Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

The true story of the first Black Medal of Freedom winner—a remarkable account of one of the most memorable battles in Civil War history.

Sergeant William H. Carney was one of the few Black officers of the newly formed Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment—composed entirely of Black soldiers. In an important Civil War battle, Carney led his men over the ramparts of Fort Wagner, where Union soldiers charged the Confederates. As they fought, they gained strength from the stars and stripes of the American flag, Old Glory.

It was Carney’s vow to never let Old Glory touch the ground, and despite several gunshot wounds, he was able to rescue the flag from the fallen bearer.

Carney held the flag high as a symbol that his regiment would never submit to the Confederacy. The battle of Fort Wagner decimated the Fifty-fourth Regiment, but Carney’s heroism that night inspired all who survived.

This nonfiction picture book is authored by Catherine Clinton, the Denman Chair of American History at the University of Texas in San Antonio, and beautifully illustrated by Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Shane W. Evans. 

“Captures the fear and horror of battle as well as the bravery of the soldiers.”—Booklist

“An excellent resource to humanize textbook studies of the Civil War.” —School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060504304
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	248,931
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Catherine Clinton is the author of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom and Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars. Educated at Harvard, Sussex, and Princeton, she is a member of the advisory committee to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and holds a chair in U.S. history at Queen's University Belfast.

Shane W. Evans is the author and illustrator of Underground, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner, We March, and Olu’s Dream and the illustrator of more than forty books for children, including Chocolate Me!; Mixed Me!; and I Love You More Than . . . , all by Taye Diggs. He has exhibited his art all over the world, in West Africa, South Africa, and France and Chicago, New York, and other major U.S. cities. He has a home base in Kansas City, Missouri, where he runs Dream Studio, a studio that is open to the community. You can visit the work online at www.shaneevans.com and www.dreamstudio777.com.

Editorial Reviews

Ably captures…the courage displayed by Carney and his fellow troops.” — Kirkus Reviews

“An excellent resource to humanize textbook studies of the Civil War” — School Library Journal

“[A] stirring chapter in American history.” — The Horn Book

“Celebrates the courage of William Carney.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

Celebrates the courage of William Carney.

Booklist

[A] stirring chapter in American history.

The Horn Book

Celebrates the courage of William Carney.

Booklist

A trio of highly visual books help readers imagine the past. Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton, illus. by Shane W. Evans, tells the story of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth regiment, an African-American unit formed in the spring of 1863 during the Civil War. Evans's thickly laid paint portrays the soldiers setting up camp just south of Charleston Bay, S.C., all the way through to a poignant close-up of their brave Sergeant Carney, "one of the few black officers" of the war, carrying Old Glory to point his troop to safety. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-6-The Massachusetts Fifty-fourth regiment, famously depicted in the movie Glory, was unique in the Civil War because it was made up entirely of African-American soldiers (with the exception of its commanding officer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw). This picture book focuses on Sergeant William Carney, the first African-American soldier to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. When Shaw arrives to tell the troops that they have been selected to lead the charge, they are proud and ready. The actual fighting is depicted realistically but appropriately for a young audience. The illustrations convey pain and confusion but not graphic violence or injuries. Evans's expressive oil paintings capture the mood and action of the battle in a powerful and effective manner. Carney watches as the soldier who is carrying the flag is shot and killed. Although he, too, has been hit by a bullet, he valiantly catches the flag before it can touch the ground and gets it to safety before collapsing. A period photograph of Carney holding the American flag and a historical time line add realism to the portrayal of events. Although the book contains factual information and sources are listed, dialogue and feelings attributed to the characters put it more in the realm of historical fiction. It is an excellent resource to humanize textbook studies of the Civil War and would work well with Patricia Polacco's Pink and Say (Penguin, 1994), George Ella Lyon's Cecil's Story (Scholastic, 1995), Ann Turner's Drummer Boy (HarperCollins, 1998), and Romare Bearden's Li'l Dan, the Drummer Boy (S & S, 2003).-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Evans's thickly brushed scenes of African-American soldiers with downcast eyes, clustered beneath rippling Stars and Stripes, lend an air of ritual solemnity in keeping with Clinton's inspiring commemoration of Sgt. William H. Carney's (now) renowned act of heroism in the Civil War: planting the flag on the ramparts of Fort Wagner during the 54th Massachusetts's bloody charge, then, though bearing multiple wounds, carrying it to safety in the ensuing retreat. For this, Carney was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor almost 40 years later-the first African American to receive one. Though Clinton occasionally departs from the historical record-billing the attack as the soldiers' "first battle" (it wasn't), and adding thoughts and dialogue-her account ably captures the violence and confusion of battle, as well as the courage displayed by Carney and his fellow troopers. A strong lead-in to Clinton Cox's Undying Glory: The Story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment (1991) or Clinton's own The Black Soldier: 1492 to the Present (2000). (time line, resource list) (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews