The regiment was authorized in March 1863 by the Governor of Massachusetts, John A. Andrew. Commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, it sprang to life after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton decided white officers would be in charge of all "colored" units. Colonel Shaw was hand picked by Governor John Andrew. Governor Andrew also selected Norwood Penrose "Pen" Hallowell as the unit's second in command, a rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Like many officers of regiments of African-American troops, both Shaw and Hallowell were promoted several grades, both being captains at the time. The rest of the officers were evaluated by Shaw and Hallowell. Many of these officers were of abolitionist families and several were …show more content…
These recruiters included Lieutenant J. Appleton, also the first man commissioned in the regiment, whose recruiting efforts included posting a notice in the Boston Journal and holding a recruiting rally held in Joy Street Church and in which speakers Edward L. Pierce and Wendell Phillips encouraged free blacks to enlist for the regiment. This recruitment group was later known as "The Black Committee". The 54th trained at Camp Meigs in Readville near Boston. While there they received considerable moral support from abolitionists in Massachusetts including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Material support included warm clothing items, battle flags and $500 contributed for the equipping and training of a regimental band. As it became evident that many more recruits were coming forward than were needed the medical exam for the 54th was described as "rigid and thorough" by the Massachusetts Surgeon-General. This resulted in what he described as the most "robust, strong and healthy set of men" ever mustered into service in the United States. Despite this, as was common in the Civil War, a few men died of disease prior to the 54th's departure from Camp
Zwick effectively builds the characters of the 54th regiment by portraying the grueling months of training and development. One prominent example of this is in the end of their movie when the 54th is given the chance to fight in an attack on the beach of South Carolina at Fort Wagner. Determined to dismiss the belief that blacks would not be disciplined under fire, the 54th is at the forefront of the suicidal attack on Fort Wagner. During this battle, the 54th displays the courage that persuaded President Lincoln to enlist many more black soldiers.
The act that the government passed in July of 1862 was an uprising to starting off the Buffalo Soldiers success. Then Abraham Lincoln Passed The Law To free All African American Slaves on January 1 1863, ,which made most of African American men thinking that joining the army would help them gain freedom and that would be a better life instead of taking time to learn how to read or write. After Abraham Lincoln Passed the law approximately 180,000 was serving in the USA Union Army. The Buffalo Soldiers started with nothing surviving off spoiled food, half working low class weapons, and also not having any First-Aid kit to fix up anybody that was hurting and injury/damage. Even doe The Buffalo Soldiers were serving the country, doing good, helping out the USA with wars they were still poorly. Mans would go 48Hours without eating because people still had racial thoughts about the African Americans when traveling thru different city getting ready for ...
Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be "young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service." (Emilio 1990) Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaw's father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Mass...
Thomas, a childhood friend of Shaw’s, is well educated and has not been exposed to the harsh reality of the slavery scene. Shaw envisions the loss he had at Tatum when he trained these men. These men have never experienced man-to-man combat before and are not prepared to handle most situations. Robert enforces all the same regulations that the other regiments go by in the Union. The pride of these black soldiers kept them from accepting the lesser salary offered and they chose for no payment as did their leader Shaw.
... them. African Americans like Salem Poor had to choose if they wanted to rebel against the British or remain loyal to the crown. The colonists were reluctant to allow slaves to join the army because they were fearful of slave rebellions. It was not until 1775 that Washington formally allowed slaves to enter into the army. Salem Poor was able to join the army because he bought his freedom from his owner. Poor’s motivations for joining the army are not well known except for the fact that Andover was on the whole an anti-British settlement. Poor fell under the paradox of fighting for freedom that he would never be able to enjoy. African Americans like Salem Poor must have thought that the colonists were acting hypercritical when they were fighting against an oppressive group denying them rights when African Americans were experiencing the same oppressive conditions.
A Southern refugee once reflected, and referred to the Army of the Potomac as the “greatest army in the planet.” Although this is a clear exaggeration, from a Southern perspective following the Battle of Antietam, this was not too far off. Relative to the Army of Northern Virginia, the Federal army was vastly larger, in better spirits, and strategically in better positions. To direct this army of great potential, President Lincoln appointed the reluctant Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside. Almost immediately after receiving command, Burnside adopted a plan; the objective was Richmond.
Black soldiers were among the bravest of those fighting in the Civil War. Both free Blacks in the Union army and escaped slaves from the South rushed to fight for their freedom and they fought with distinction in many major Civil War battles. Many whites thought Blacks could not be soldiers. They were slaves. They were inferior. Many thought that if Blacks could fight in the war it would make them equal to whites and prove the theory of slavery was wrong. Even though Black soldiers had to face much discrimination during the Civil War, they were willing to fight to the death for their freedom. In the movie “Glory“ the director focused on the African Americans in the north that fought in the 54th regiment led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. During the time of the Civil War, the African Americans that fought in the 54th regiment were often treated unfairly but there were always nice people that backed them up.
Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson have similar themes of conflicts between fathers and sons, conflicts between husbands and wives, and the need to focus on a small unit of space in order to achieve success. In the process of developing these themes throughout the two plays, three similar symbolic elements are used including the insecure father figure, the "other woman," and the garden. The fathers in the two plays are comparable because they both have conflicts with their sons as a result of living in the past, and they die in the end. Willy, in Death of a Salesman, is never respected for his occupational status, so he places very high expectations on his son, Biff. Willy lives in the memory of past events to such a large extent that he cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, and he passes this trait onto Biff.
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
The movie Glory is about Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from the fighting in the war and leads the first African American regiment in the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts. The movie focuses on Captain turned Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from battle and training an African American regiment along with his friend Captain Cabot Forbes. The movie focuses on four African Americans, Sargent Rawlins, Thomas Searles, Jupiter Sharts, and Tripp, following their journey into a united division in the US military. The movie begins with Shaw in the Battle of Antietam, where he passed out due to his injuries and wakes up with the conflict over. Afterwards, he returns home in Massachusetts, showing signs that the battle had slightly traumatized him. Shaw meets Frederick Douglass there and is told that he will be the first to lead a colored regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. When he is told of this news, he asks his friend Cabot Forbes to assist him as his second in command. Shaw’s first volunteer for the 54th Mass. is other close friend Thomas Searles. After sending word of a colored regiment, many African Americans sign up, specifically Rawlins, Searles, and Tripp. However, Lincoln sends an order saying that any black person that takes arms in the war would either return to slavery or be put to death. Even though they face the threat of death, none of the soldiers-in-training leave. This scene is important since it demonstrates how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to get their freedom. The soldiers’ training begins and in order to train everyone correctly, Shaw brings in Col. Mulcahy. At this point of the film, some of the scenes can be viewed as Shaw being introduced to racism due to superiorit...
After the second Battle of Manassas, the Army of the Potomac was demoralized and President Lincoln needed someone that could reorganize it. President Lincoln liked General McClellan personally and admired his strengths as an administrator, organizer, and drillmaster. Lincoln was aware that the soldiers loved General McClellan and had nicknamed him “Little Mac.” Knowing this, President Lincoln ordered General McClellan to “assume command of Washington, its defenses and all forces in the immediate vicinity.”1 This was not a field command but intended for General McClellan to take the returning demoralized Army and the new soldiers coming into Washington and make them a fighting force, nothing more. Lincoln knew as well that although Ge...
The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally had enough; he fired McClellan for the second and final time, and replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, whom he had initially offered the job. No military officer in the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than did Major General Burnside during 1862. On three separate occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac, and each time the general demurred on the grounds that he was not competent to handle such a large force. Once General Burnside took command he immediately set forth after General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Imagine it’s the year of 1777 in cold Philadelphia at Valley Forge. It smells like fresh log from the huts. You see injured men and people starving for food. People crying from the pain and in the corner of your eye you see General Washington making Revolutionary War attack plans. We are here to fight for our freedom. The enlistment is over and you and the rest of the soldiers at Valley Forge have to decide whether or not you are going to quit. If I were you I would quit because of the lack of supplies, family issues, and illness/death.
Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.
The movie “Glory” tells the history and the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. It became the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War. The Regiment was made up of black soldiers – some were Northern freemen, some were escaped slaves. The leader was General Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. The men of the 54th Regiment proved themselves worthy of the freedom for which they fighting, and the respect of their fellow white soldiers.