They came from 22 states- farmers, engineers, and students, boatmen, barbers, and stonecutters. Most were in their twenties: but some were as young as sixteen, and many were in their forties. They were the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, the "Glory" regiment. They were black men, who risked their lives for the Union cause.
Although treated like second-class soldiers, their gallant assault on Fort Wagner erased all doubt about their ability to fight. By the end of the Civil War, they had proved their courage and determination as they fought to free their brothers and sisters from slavery.
From Kirkus Reviews
A moving account of the formation and valiant record of the first black regiment (a story also told in the film Glory), from the firing on Fort Sumter to an 1887 reunion. Cox, a prize-winning journalist, has woven an impressive amount of research into his straightforward narrative; battle details put readers on the scene with compelling immediacy, while they also learn how these men proved their competence and dignity against incredible odds--including not only their struggles with the Confederacy (which at first planned to treat black prisoners of war as mutinous slaves) but also the cruel effects of racism on their own side (e.g., the devastating hardship inflicted on soldiers' families by the government's failure to honor its promise to give them the same pay as whites). There are frequent, effective quotes from participants and from luminaries, including Charlotte Forten and Frederick Douglass, whose son was a member of the 54th. A distinguished presentation of the historical record. Bibliography of sources; b&w photos and index not seen
