Synopsis

The 54th Massachusetts, the first formally organized regiment of Black soldiers to serve in the Civil War, drew its ranks from a diverse array of professions: merchants, clerks, shoemakers, and sailors. They were acutely aware that the nation's gaze would be fixed upon them, a scrutiny intensified by the pervasive prejudice that deemed Black men unfit for combat. By the war’s conclusion, nearly 180,000 Black soldiers had served within the Union Army.