 On July 18, 1863, Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts were chosen to spearhead an assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. But it wasn't going to be easy. Morris Island was very narrow, so only one regiment at a time could be sent to attack Fort Wagner. Even worse, Union forces had bombarded Fort Wagner with 9,000 shells in preparation for the invasion, but the fort's defenses had been largely unharmed.