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The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Union army was the first Negro regiment in the Civil War. They were formed in March of 1863, and were organized at Camp Meigs in Readville, Massachusetts, right outside of Boston. The fifty fourth regiment proved that the Negro man could fight and was willing to fight contrary to popular demand.
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves of the rebelling territories in the south. Then “In January 1863 the War Department authorized Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts to raise a regiment of Negro soldiers in his state” (McPherson 173). During the first six weeks only one hundred men from Massachusetts volunteered. After the poor turn out Governor Andrew made up a committee to raise money for the recruitment of Negro soldiers. Then in February of 1863, Governor Andrew appointed Shaw as the colonel of the fifty-fourth Massachusetts. All of the officers of the fifty-fourth were also white. Shaw was a twenty-six year old member of a Boston abolitionist family. All of Shaw’s officers were white abolitionists.
After the recruiting process was over all of the Negroes were sent t
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After the burning of Darien and the manual labor the troops of the fifty-fourth had to do they began to feel like they were never going to be able to show what they can do in battle. The fifty-fourth lost two-hundred and seventy-two men out six-hundred men in the battle of Fort Wagner along with Colonel Shaw. There were eleven heavy guns mounted in fixed position on the fort and then several smaller canons that could be easily repositioned quickly. “Before retreating, Carney once again grasped the flag, and despite the bullets in the head, chest, right arm, and leg, he returned it to Union lines” (Kashatus American History). That night after their first encounter at James Island, the fifty-fourth ferried to Morris Island “where battle lines had already been drawn for the anticipated attack on Fort Wagner” (Kashatus American History). ” (Kashatus American History) After the Negroes had started their training the Confederate Congress passed an act against it. This act stated that any Negro captured or white officer affiliated with the Negro troops would be put to death.
Then on July 16, 1863, the forty-fourth finally got a chance to fight among the white troops on James Island. “Company B passed through the moat where canister, grenades, and small arm fire rained down on them” (Kashutus American History).
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