Peter Burchard
Quick Facts
Biography
Peter Burchard (March 1, 1921 – July 3, 2004) was an author, free-lance designer, and illustrator. He wrote the book One Gallant Rush (1965), about Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first African-American unit in the Union Army. It was adapted for the 1989 film Glory, which won numerous awards.
World War II
Burchard served on convoys in the North Atlantic during World War II. During this time, his drawings were published by Yank magazine.
Books
Burchard primarily wrote children's books about slavery, abolitionism, and the American Civil War. He wrote 26 books and illustrated over 100.
His book One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment, was the basis for the Oscar-winning 1989 film Glory.
His works include:
Adult
- One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment (1965/reprint 1990)
Juvenile
- Balloons: From Paper Bags to Skyhooks
- Jed
- North by Night
- Stranded
- Bimby
- Chito
- Pioneers of Flight
- Rat Hell
- Frederick Douglass
- Lincoln and Slavery
- Digger
Honors
Burchard became a Guggenheim Fellow in 1966.