Glory (1989): More to Fighting Than Rest

Characters played by Matthew Broderick and Jay Sanders discuss where the true strength of soldiers comes from.

Grab the coffee mug with this comic on Etsy.

The movie Glory was released the same year I was born and stars two of the most talented actors of my time, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. It also features one of my favorite uplifting movie scenes — when Colonel Shaw volunteers his all-black volunteer regiment to lead an attack on Fort Wagner after listening to General Strong list off all the deathly artillery defending it.

“Wagner mounts a 10-inch columbiad, three smooth bore 32-pounders, a 42-pound carronade, a 10-inch coast mortar, and four 12-pound howitzers. Plus a garrison of about a thousand men… Needless to say, the casualties in the leading regiment may be extreme.”

The historical events of the civil war that Glory is based on are not uplifting at face value, but they present many opportunities for the men in the story to triumph over fear. Over and over again, Colonel Shaw and his troops choose courage and love in a hellish place. And the more hell they go through, the stronger they get. To the point where, at the end of the movie, survival is not so important. Following their friends and fellow troops is what matters most.

These little choices of unity among friends and fellow soldiers, over and over again, is what the essence of the United States is built on. You feel this in the movie Glory.

If you love this scene as much as me and enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea, you can get a solid white mug that features the comic at the top of this post.