Sgt. William Carney, a soldier in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment who ignored his own wounds to carry the American flag into battle during the Civil War, is the focus of the latest graphic novel in the Association of the U.S. Army’s series on recipients of the nation’s highest award for valor.

Medal of Honor: William Carney recounts the story of a man born in 1840 who grew up in slavery on a plantation in Norfolk, Virginia. After his family fled the South and settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Carney learned to read and write and set his sights on joining the ministry, according to a narrative compiled by the National Museum of the United States Army.

When the Civil War broke out, Carney felt a call to duty, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, setting off to join the war after completing training in May 1863.

Deployed at first to Darien, Georgia, on orders to raid the town, the regiment soon was involved in its first battle at James Island, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, in the Battle of Fort Wagner.

Commanded by Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the soldiers of the 54th marched on the fort that evening and were fired upon by 1,800 Confederate soldiers attacking from inside the fort. Shaw adjusted the unit’s advances, taking them through the moat and up the slope leading to the fort, but the unit suffered heavy casualties and Shaw was killed, according to the narrative.

As the battle raged, Carney, though severely wounded twice, persevered, grabbing the American flag as previous color bearers fell, and crawled to the parapet under heavy fire to urge the troops forward, the narrative states.

“I threw away my gun, seized the colors, and made my way to the head of the column,” he said, proclaiming, “I did but my duty; the dear old flag never touched the ground,” according to the narrative.

Carney, who was discharged from the Army in 1864 due to his injuries, returned to Massachusetts, got married and had a daughter and became a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 23, 1900. His actions are the earliest by an African American soldier to be recognized with the nation’s highest award for military valor, according to the narrative.

The story of Carney and his unit were made famous in the movie Glory, and Carney was immortalized in the patriotic song, Boys the Old Flag Never Touched the Ground.

Carney died on Dec. 9, 1908, and is buried in New Bedford.

Medal of Honor: William Carney is available here.

AUSA launched its Medal of Honor graphic novel series in October 2018. This is the 25th novel in the series. The digital graphic novels are available here.

“This book highlights Carney and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as they tried to take Fort Wagner at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired,” said Joseph Craig, director of AUSA’s Book Program. “The creative team for the book did a spectacular job in bringing this story to life.”

Each AUSA graphic novel is created by a team of professional comic book veterans. The script for Medal of Honor: William Carney was written by Chuck Dixon, whose previous work includes Batman, The Punisher and The ‘Nam.

Pencils, inks and the cover were by Wayne Vansant, who has worked on The ’Nam, Savage Tales and All Quiet on the Western Front; colors were by Peter Pantazis, who previously worked on Justice League, Superman and Black Panther; and the lettering was by Troy Peteri, who has worked on Spider-Man, Iron Man and X-Men.