54 th Massachusetts Regiment

1. 54th Massachusetts Regiment By.Regine Reid

2. One unit that insisted on fighting without pay. The organized date was in March 1863 In July 1863, earned its greatest fame The first African Americans regiment organized in the North What is the 54th Massachusetts Regiment http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=485460&t=w

3. How African Americans have the rights to fight in the war. • Lincoln made it possible for African Americans to fight in the war • Lincoln freed the slaves • Lincoln thought that if he didn’t free the slaves they wouldn’t have won the war • 180 thousand African Americans we in the war

4. Over 4 million African Americans lived in the United States in 1860 Most of the African Americans lived in the Southern States where mostly slaves Nearly all of them served in the union army Black soldiers often won the grudging admiration and respect of white soldiers, but they still faced strong racial hostility both on and off the battlefield Sergeant William H. Carney was the first black soldier to receive the medal of honor About the African Americans http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/image/203_large.eg

5. The War !! • The war began in the 1861 • Black Troops fought in almost 500 battles in the war • About 400,000 African Americans died in what became a war to end slavery an as well to defend the union • 135,000 of the men in the war and navy were former slaves

6. Later on in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment • The survivors of the fifth-fourth went on participate in the eventual capture of fort wager several weeks later • The fifty fourth continued to serve throught out the remainder of the war • They fought at Olustee , Florida; Honey hill; South Carolina And finally at Boykins mills, South Carolina