Fort Wagner had a garrison of 1,700 men and it was heavily armed with canons. It lay in a very inaccessible landscape; the attacking force could only go one way to attack the fort. This fort was the strongest, separate fortification that was known in the history of war. The canons roared from all directions against the fort, but the confederacy didn't loose more than 8 men that was killed and 20 men that was wounded before the attack.

When Col. Shaw and his aid-de-camp arrived at Morris Island, they reported to General Strong. He told them that the attack on Fort Wagner would happen on this very evening. Col. Shaw got an offer of leading the attack since General Strong knew about Col. Shaw's wish to fight with his regiment together with other white troops. Shaw accepted and orders were sent to his regiment.

Massachusetts 54th regiment arrived at General Strong's headquarters around 6. p.m. There they took a short brake for 5 minutes. When General Strong watched the worn and tired regiment who hadn't been able to eat properly for 3 days, he felt very sorry when he couldn't get them some food and drink.

But there wasn't any time. They would lead the attack against Fort Wagner and the men had feelings of ill-fortune. This beach on which they stood were to be the last place that many of the soldiers would see, those who survived would never forget this place. The officers were nervous as well, would the soldiers prove that they were worthy soldiers or would they just run? What they didn't know was that the outcome of this battle would affect the way the army would look at African-Americans.

They waited for half an hour, Col. Shaw said to Lieutenant Hallowell: "I will go ahead with the Union flag. You keep the flag of Massachusetts; it will give your men something to rally under. We will take the fort or die here! Goodbye!"

General Strong rode in front of the 54th and spoke to the men: "Boys, I am from Massachusetts and I know that you will fight for the glory of Massachusetts. I am sorry that you must fight when you are tired and hungry, but the men in the fort are tired and hungry too. There are only 300 men behind those walls and they have been fighting all day. Don't fire your rifles but go in with your bayonets against the enemy in their front line." He summoned the standard bearer and asked: "If this man falls, who will pick up the flag again?" And Col. Shaw answered: "I will." His men at the regiment gave the same answer with a high and triumphant voice. General Strong rode ahead to give the signal for the attack.

Colonel Shaw spoke to his men: "I want you to prove yourself worthy now!" He reminded them also that there would be thousands of people that would watch this battle that would take place on this very night. The dark fell and the minutes passed, the officers shook hands with each other under silence, the soldiers took a quiet farewell and listened for the command to attack. The usual preparations that usually took place before a battle were not made; it was a quiet understanding that they would attack the fort with bayonets only.

The men got their final instructions and the attack started. The enemy had watched the preparations and knew what would come; they waited for the attack. Canons from Fort Sumter, Sullivan's Island and James Island started to bombard the regiment. The time was now 6.45 p.m. and the dark fell quickly, the 54th now began their attack.

Col. Shaw led the attack with his sword in his hand; the charge of almost a kilometer over the sand began. When they arrived at a narrow passage that could hardly accompany their present formation, the soldiers were forced to make way as best as they could. Two of the companies were forced to wade through water up to their knees when the waves hit the beach. The regiment moved as fast as they could and tried to keep their formation as much as possible when considering the difficult terrain and the narrow passage. It now had become even darker and only the center of the column had a free passage towards the fort. The regiment continued onwards until they were approximately 200 meters from the fort.

At this time Fort Wagner became a hill of fire from which a flood of bullets and shells rained upon the regiment. When this turmoil of war began and the soldiers began to fall in multiple numbers, the 54th answered this deadly challenge with making their pace quicker so that they would be able to attack the enemy. They did not stop, pause or even checked out their situation once during the attack. And they did not do it this time either.

Fort Wagners walls were still the target and they continued their attack, now severely decimated. This terrible firepower that the regiment had received during the beginning of the attack led to the largest losses under the whole battle. Finally only a ditch separated them from the enemy. Col. Shaw led his regiment during the whole attack, when he got up on the rampart he called to his men: "Forward 54th!" He then fell down dead to the ground, shot through the heart. He was only 25 years old.

So far the 54th regiment had not fired a single shot but now when they had crossed the ridge shots began to be heard. The 54th was an easy target for the enemy and soon it was clear that they would not be able to take the fort because of the severe losses they had suffered. Soon the odds were 10 against 100 and it was also clear that the fort was both stronger and better garrisoned than what was believed from the beginning.

All this happened under a rather short time, they soon understood that the other troops that would give them backup would not arrive for a while. The regiment tried to retreat but it was just as deadly as to attack. But under Captain Emilio the regiment gathered together and they retreated to a better position a few hundred meters away. Soldiers from the different companies gathered together in a nearby trench, at 1 a.m. an officer came and asked for the officer in charge, which was Captain Emilio, and he was informed that they were soon to be relieved. They marched further away and camped behind the sheltering dunes. They tried another attack but it was all in vein. They suffered severe losses and were forced to retreat. With that the great battle of Fort Wagner was over.

The Confederates casualties were 181 dead or injured soldiers. The casualties of the Union army were 1,515 men. This kind of losses marked that this battle was one of the worst during the war. The Union army had been through much greater battles if one sees to the sheer numbers of soldiers, but the losses had so far not been so severe. A number of witnesses tell about the courage of the 54th, even some of the officers at Fort Wagner commended the 54th regiment's efforts.

Early in the morning July 19 when the remnants of the 54th regiments was awakened it was clear how terrible the losses really were. Soldiers that were lost during the night began to reunite with the regiment. There were only about 400 men left. The regiment soon found out what had happened to Colonel Shaw, he had been buried together with his soldiers but first the enemy had plundered him on his clothes and belongings before he as the only white officer was buried together with his African-American soldiers. His parents thought that they should stop searching for his grave, they thought it was best that he was put to rest together with the brave men that had been killed in battle with him.