This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

Up next, the story of Army Sergeant William H. Carney, who became the first

black American to have earned the Medal of Honor for protecting one of the United States' greatest

symbols during the Civil War, the American flag. Here to tell a story is the Jack Miller Center's

editorial officer and historian, Elliot Drago.

The Jack Miller Center, by the way, is a nationwide network of scholars and teachers

dedicated to educating the next generation about America's founding principles and history.

To learn more, visit jackmiller center.org.

Let's take a listen.

William Carney heard a familiar voice roar.

Forward 54th.

Dashing up the steep slope with sand chafing his arms, legs, and neck, he saw a bullet-ridden flag flutter,

beginning an agonizing plummet to the ground.

Throwing his rifle aside, he grabbed

the stars and stripes before they landed on the gritty crest. Time stopped as he raised the

flag. As a monstrous rifle volley melted away the soldiers around him, he felt the heat of a lead

ball careened through his thigh. Carney braced himself against the flag, ready to die while

rallying his friends to take the fort. Despite the danger around him, Sergeant William H. Carney

of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment survived, holding the flag aloft for one

whole half hour on Fort Wagner's power pit.

William Henry Carney was born enslaved in Norfolk, Virginia on February 29, 1840.

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