African-American Troops In The Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts
Beginning of paper
The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts was organized in early 1863 by Robert
Gould Shaw, twenty-six year old member of a prominent Boston abolitionist family.
Shaw had earlier served in the Seventh New York National Guard and the Second
Massachusetts Infantry, and was appointed colonel of the Fifty-fourth ....
Middle of paper
.... on June 3,
1863. The regiment earned its greatest fame on July 18, 1863, when it led the
unsuccessful and controversial assault on the Confederate positions at Battery
Wagner. In this desperate attack, the Fifty-fourth was placed in the vanguard
and over 250 men of the regiment became casualties. Shaw, the regiment's young
colonel, died on the crest of the enemy parapet, shouting, "Forward, Fifty-
fourth!"
That heroic charge, coupled with Shaw's death, made the regiment a
household name throug ....
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Page count: 7 (approximately 250 words per page)
