African-american Troops In The Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts :: essays research papers

African-American Troops in the Civil War The 54th mum     The Fifty- twenty-five percent Massachusetts was organised in early 1863 by RobertGould Shaw, twenty-six year old fraction of a prominent Boston abolitionist family.Shaw had earlier served in the ordinal New York National Guard and the SecondMassachusetts Infantry, and was appointed colonel of the Fifty- quaternate inFebruary 1863 by Massachusetts goernor John A. Andrew.     As one of the frontmost black units organized in the northern states, theFifty-fourth was the object of great take and curiosity, and its performancewould be considered an important indication of the possibilities surrounding theuse of blacks in combat. The regi manpowert was composed primarily of free blacks fromthroughout the north, particularly Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Amongst itsrecruits was Lewis N. Douglass, son of the famous ex-slave and abolitionist,Frederick Douglass.     Af ter a period of recruiting and training, the unit proceeded to the part of the South, arriving at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on June 3,1863. The regiment earned its greatest fame on July 18, 1863, when it led theunsuccessful and controversial assault on the Confederate positions at BatteryWagner. In this desperate attack, the Fifty-fourth was placed in the vanguardand over 250 men of the regiment became casualties. Shaw, the regiments youngcolonel, died on the crest of the enemy parapet, shouting, "Forward, Fifty-fourth"     That heroic charge, coupled with Shaws death, made the regiment ahousehold learn throughout the north, and helped spur black recruiting. For theremainder of 1863 the unit participated in military blockade operations around Charleston,before boarding transports for Florida early in February 1864. The regimentnumbered 510 officers and men at the opening of the Florida Campaign, and itsnew commander was Edward N. Hallowell, a 27 year old merchant fromMedford, Massachusetts. Anxious to avenge the Battery Wagner repulse, the Fifty-fourth was the best black regiment available to General Seymour, the Unioncommander.      on with the First North Carolina Colored Infantry, the Fifty-fourthentered the fighting late in the mean solar day at Olustee, and helped save the Union armyfrom complete disaster. The Fifty-fourth marched into battle yelling, " terzettocheers for Massachusetts and seven dollars a month." The latter referred to thedifference in pay back between white and colored Union infantry, long a unrestrained pointwith colored troops. Congress had just passed a bill correcting this and self-aggrandizingcolored troops equal pay. However, word of the bill would non action these troopsuntil after the battle of Olustee. The regiment lost eighty-six men in thebattle, the lowest number of the three black regiments present. After Olustee,the Fifty-fourth was not sent to participate i n the bloody Virginia campaigns