What is the 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment
In the beginning of the Civil War many
African American men wanted to volunteer to fight for the Union, however they
were forbidden to do so. In 1862, Congress repealed the law and thousands of
free black men and escaped slaves enlisted in the Union army.
The Union army created separate African American troops from the white troops. These troops had only black soldiers with the exception of the commander. In the beginning, they were only served as laborers and did noncombat duties. The African American soldiers also earn less money. It was only about half the amount the white soldier’s received. They protested against this and in 1864 finally got equal pay. One of the most famous of the African American regiments was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. On July 18th, 1863 they lead an attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. They fought hard but eventually had to withdraw. Almost half of their men died in their attempt to capture the fort. The regiment’s courage earned them great respect and other regiments as well. Sergeant William Carney was the first of 16 African American soldiers to win a Medal of Honor. Edwin Stanton said that “such soldier had proved themselves among the bravest of the brave” (Davidson 499). This is a clip from the movie "Glory". It shows the 54th Mass. Infantry prepping for their battle the next morning
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Connection to OpportunityThe 54th Massachusetts Regiment showed that African Americans were finally get some of the same opportunities as the white men, in the north. They earned the same amount of money, and were allowed to fight, in major battles. This was a huge opportunity given to them by the white men. They were finally almost getting treated the same way.
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