DARIEN, Ga.: Ga. town to mark date it was burned in Civil War | State News | Macon.com

DARIEN, Ga. — As the 150th anniversary of the burning of Darien approaches, historian Buddy Sullivan wants to clear up what he considers a misconception about the south Georgia town’s Civil War history.

Many people assume that Union Army Col. Robert Gould Shaw was the one who burned Darien, especially since the Hollywood movie “Glory” came out. Matthew Broderick played the white Shaw in the 1989 movie about the otherwise all-black 54th Massachusetts Regiment.

Sullivan tells The Jacksonville Times-Union (http://bit.ly/10Pzwz9) that it was Shaw’s superior officer, Col. James Montgomery of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, who ordered the attack. He said Shaw reluctantly carried out the raid under threat of court-martial.

via DARIEN, Ga.: Ga. town to mark date it was burned in Civil War | State News | Macon.com.