<P> The fall of Battery Wagner would have considerable strategic significance . With its loss and that of Fort Gregg, Morris Island too fell to the United States . Although Charleston remained in the hands of the rebels its port was effectively closed . At the end of the year Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles could report that "the commerce of Charleston has ceased ." The impact also showed directly in rebel customs receipts, which fell drastically from 1863 to 1864 . The labors and sacrifices of the United States forces during the storms and siege had in the end shut down a vital lifeline to the rebellion . </P> <P> The most famous regiment that fought for the U.S. side in the battle of Fort Wagner was the 54th regiment, which was one of the first African - American regiments in the war . The 54th was controversial in the North, where many people supported the abolition of slavery, but still treated African - Americans as lesser or inferior to whites . Though some claimed blacks could not fight as well as whites, the actions of the 54th Massachusetts demonstrated once again the fallacy in that argument, as this was not the first time blacks ever fought in war or even for the United States . </P> <P> William Carney, an African - American and a sergeant with the 54th, is considered the first black recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at Fort Wagner in recovering and returning the unit's American flag to U.S. lines . After the battle, the Confederates buried the regiment's commanding officer, Robert Gould Shaw, in a mass grave with the African - American soldiers of his regiment, viewing this as an insult to him . Instead, his family were grateful to them for burying Shaw with his men . </P> <P> Morris Island is smaller than 1,000 acres and is subject to extensive erosion by storm and sea . Much of the previous site of Fort Wagner has been eroded away, including the place where the Union soldiers had been buried . However, by the time this had happened, the soldiers' remains were no longer there because soon after the end of the Civil War, the Army disinterred and reburied all the remains--including, presumably, those of Col. Shaw--at the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina, where their gravestones were marked as "unknown ." </P>

What famous african american regiment fought bravely at fort wagner