When the regiment sailed from Boston Harbor, Frederick Douglass, famed black abolitionist, was there to wave good-bye and offer encouragement. On their arrival in Georgia, Shaw’s men became discouraged with the lack of battle action. However, that changed on July 18, 1863, when the regiment was chosen to spearhead a beach attack on Fort Wagner, a fortified structure protecting the approach to the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The suicide attack on Fort Wagner proved nothing but the bravery and valor of the 54th. When it was over, nearly one-half of the 54th’s regiment of 600 volunteers had been killed, wounded or captured. Many of them died that day, including Colonel Shaw who was buried on the beachhead in a common grave along with his courageous black soldiers. Efforts to return the Colonel’s body to Massachusetts were halted when his father insisted that he remain with his men, saying, "We can imagine no holier place than that in which he is...or wish him better company —what a bodyguard he has!"