George Washington Dugan, Concord’s Unrecognized War Veteran

George Washington Dugan was born in Concord in 1819 and worked as a farmer and as a hostler taking care of the horses at the Middlesex Hotel. He owned a house and nine acres of land at a time when about 60% of Concord male taxpayers didn’t own either. His father escaped slavery in Virginia, and his mother was from nearby Acton3. His father introduced the rye cradle and grafting apples to the Concord farming community4.

In his 40s, after his spouse passed away, George chose to leave home and serve in The Massachusetts 54th, the first all-Black regiment of the Union Army. The formation of George’s regiment was a difficult topic to push. Many questioned Black men’s ability to fight (women were not officially allowed to join the military for nearly two more centuries), and some argued that the subject was merely one of too much controversy to come to fruition. The compromise that resulted was to limit Black applicants to enlistment, while white men were given roles as commissioned officers. Racial discrimination was unfortunately a challenge that George and many of his comrades faced during their service, and it didn’t end at limitations on rank. In comparison to white soldiers in their Army, Black patriots earned very little money; George was not paid a dollar for his time in the 54th.

At the famous Second Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863, a conflict that inspired many more African-Americans to enlist in the Union Army, George Washington Dugan was killed in action during his first year in the Regiment5. This battle served as a standpoint for others; it, along with the Emancipation Proclamation, suddenly caused an extreme increase in Union enlistment, the key turning point that allowed Northerners to defeat the rebellious slaveholders of the South1,6.

Forgotten and Excluded

George gave his life for the Union, but his hometown failed to add his name to its Civil War Monument. It wasn’t until over a century and a half after his sacrifice at Fort Wagner that Concord voted to have Dugan’s name etched into the obelisk in the town square, joining dozens of those of other Concordians who gave their lives to the Union cause. At the time of recording this excerpt, the plaque on the Civil War Monument is yet to be updated, but funds are now being raised to change this2. This addition to the monument is part of a larger effort in the town to honor George’s sacrifice.

Dugan’s body was never returned to Concord, but a cenotaph was placed in the town’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery during a formal dedication honoring his memory with units from across the country in summer, 2023, on the 160th anniversary of his sacrifice1.

Acknowledgement 160 Years in the Making

As Joe Palumbo, a Robbins House interpreter and the chair of the committee creating events and celebrations around the 250th Anniversary of the start of the American Revolution puts it, “For many years the town remained focused on ‘minutemen and muskets’ and the literary greats that make up the ‘Concord Pantheon’. Busts and paintings of Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne abound throughout the town

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Slowly this is starting to change

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This memorial to George allows for public visibility and exposure to learn about and honor a history that may be new to some but is essential for them and their understanding of Concord’s role in securing freedom for all people.”

Works Cited

1Palumbo, Joe. “Honoring the Sacrifice of George Washington Dugan.” Discover Concord, 14 June 2023. issuu.com, issuu.com/discoverconcordma/docs/dc.summer23web. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

2 Palumbo, Joe. “A Walk Along Concord’s American Mile.” Discover Concord, 14 June 2023. issuu.com, issuu.com/discoverconcordma/docs/dc.summer23web. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

3 “CONCORD’S 49TH FALLEN CIVIL WAR SOLDIER: “Faithful unto Death.”” Concordma.gov, Town of Concord, concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34232/G-W-Dugan–articleCJ-1#:~:text=Identified%20in%20the%201908%20report,under%20Colonel%20Robert%20Gould%20Shaw. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

4 “Thomas and Jennie Dugan – the Robbins House.” The Robbins House, 12 June 2015, robbinshouse.org/story/thomas-and-jennie-dugan/. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

5 “The 54th Massachusetts and the Second Battle of Fort Wagner (U.S. National Park Service).” Nps.gov, 2023, www.nps.gov/articles/the-54th-massachusetts-and-the-second-battle-of-fort-wagner.htm#:~:text=The%2054th%20Massachusetts’%20valor,the%20duration%20of%20the%20war. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

6 “A Duty so Severe: Concord and the Civil War – Issuu.” Issuu, issuu, 29 Mar. 2021, issuu.com/discoverconcordma/docs/dc.spring21.final/s/11973725. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.