On behalf of the Concord Civil War Monument Task Force, we wish to express our gratitude to the Select Board, all town departments, The Concord Bridge, and citizens who supported the George W. Dugan initiative culminating in the Civil War Monument Rededication Ceremony on November 9 honoring Dugan on a new bronze plaque as Concord’s 49th fallen Civil War soldier.
Four days following a February 20, 1863, ad that appeared in the Boston Journal, Dugan traveled to Boston by train to join the newly formed 54th Massachusetts, the first Northern Black regiment in the Union Army.
Identified in the 1908 “Soldiers and Sailors” report as “The only native [man of color] who went to war from this town,” the widower and farmer had enlisted at the age of 44, twice the age of most Union Army enlistees. He was promised a $100 enlistment bonus by his recruiting officer, who subsequently became his company commander, but the bonus was “not to be paid until the end of his service.”
While listed among 51 “never accounted for” in the regiment following the July 1863 heroic assault on Fort Wagner, in 1932 the Massachusetts Adjutant General’s Office reclassified Dugan as “supposed killed.” With this military classification of his death, there was compelling evidence to memorialize his devotion to duty.
Described by their senior commanding officer as “splendid soldiers who faced a stream of fire at Wagner, faltering not, while enduring a severe test of courage,” more than half of the ranks were lost in the engagement.
Serving under the command of Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Dugan and his fallen comrades served their regiment, hometowns, and nation with pride and distinction.
Rick Frese
Walden Terrace
Chair, Concord Civil War Monument Task Force
