54th+Regiment


 * __54th Regiment of Massachusetts__**

In January of 1863, authorization to let free blacks fight for their country came from Secretary of War Stanton. This was a change in the 1792 law which forbide blacks from serving in the militia. Officers were chosen from among the prosperous white abolitionist families. Not all people in the North supported this effort and looked at it as a test for the blacks and their fitness for battle. The roles of blacks had been limited up to this point of the war to driving supply wagons, burying the battle dead, and building railroads.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, with Col Robert Shaw as commander, was the first black regiment recruited in the North. They participated in many battles, among them Battery (or Fort) Wagner. It was here that they suffered terrible losses. Of the 600 men that charged Fort Wagner, 272 were killed, wounded, or captured.

See the document listing the names of those missing after the assault on Fort Wagner: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/54reg.jpg

Tidbits: These soldiers, who were paid three dollars less than white soldiers of the time, earned ten dollars per month. Two sons of the ex-slave Frederick Douglass, Lewis and Charles, served in the 54th Regiment.

**The Regiment today:** The Regiment is marching in the 2009 Inaugural Parade celebrating the election of our first African-American president, Barack Obama. They will be marching at a pace of 112 steps per minute!

See Augustus Saint-Gauden's Memorial to Shaw and the 54th: http://www.nga.gov/feature/shaw/

Interested in learning more? Buy or rent the 1989 movie "Glory" or check out these web sites: http://www.historynet.com/americas-civil-war-54th-massachusetts-regiment.htm http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/soldiers/a/54mass_infantry.htm

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