Editing William Harvey Carney (section)

=== Civil War ===
[[File:William Harvey Carney c1864.jpg|thumb|left|Carney c. 1864]]


Carney joined the [[54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry]] in March 1863<ref name=contemporary-black-biography /> and was later promoted to [[sergeant]] due to his heroism and actions during the battle of Fort Wagner.<ref name="Lange"> [https://www.army.mil/article/181896/meet_sgt_william_carney_the_first_african_american_medal_of_honor_recipient Meet Sgt. William Carney: The first African-American Medal of Honor recipient], By Katie Lange, DoD News, Defense Media Activity, February 10, 2017, official website of the United States Army. </ref><ref> Hold the Flag High, by Catherine Clinton. Harper Collins, 2004></ref>

He took part in the July 18, 1863, assault on [[Fort Wagner]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]].<ref name=notable-black-american-men>{{cite journal|title=William H. Carney|journal=Notable Black American Men, Book II|access-date=1 March 2015|url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1622000067&source=Bookmark&u=wash84213&jsid=5dfe8609fe906d6b5f2cb761cd10e448|publisher=Gale|date=12 October 1998}}</ref> His actions there ultimately earned him the [[Medal of Honor]]. When the [[color guard]] was killed, Carney retrieved the U.S. flag and marched forward with it, despite serious wounds.<ref name=contemporary-black-biography /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Marshall Jr.|first1=Tyrone C.|title=First African-American Medal of Honor Recipient Safeguarded Flag|url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA319553100&source=Bookmark&u=wash84213&jsid=2e3c8f942bf7bf45794042b901c2a567|access-date=1 March 2015|agency=State News Service|date=19 February 2013}}</ref> When the Union troops were forced to retreat under fire, he struggled back across the battlefield (he was shot in both his right arm and leg as well as his chest, with the last shot fired barely hitting his head),<ref name="sheinkin">{{cite book |author=[[Steve Sheinkin|Sheinkin, Steve]] |title=Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War |date=2008 |publisher=Square Fish |location=New York |isbn=978-1-250-07578-9 |page=161 |edition=This Square Fish Edition: 2015}}</ref> and, eventually returning to his own lines and turning over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, saying, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!"<ref name=caagri>{{cite web | url = http://www.caagri.org/carney.html | title = William Harvey Carney (1840–1908) | access-date = 1 March 2015 | last = Carney | first = William Harvey | publisher = The Center for African American Genealogical Research, Inc.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224163506/http://www.caagri.org/carney.html |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

He received an [[honorable discharge]] due to disability from his wounds in June 1864.<ref name=contemporary-black-biography /><ref>{{cite book|title=Massachusetts soldiers, sailors, and marines in the civil war|date=1931|publisher=Norwood Press|location=Norwood, MA|page=670|url=https://archive.org/stream/massachusettssol41931mass#page/670/mode/2up|access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref>