Beginning of Essay
The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts was established in early 1863 under the direction of colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Shaw was only twenty six years old when he was put in charge of the regiment. He came from a strong abolitionist family in Boston before the war. Before ....

Middle of Essay
.... 9. By February 21, barracks were readied at Camp Meigs in Readville, outside Boston. Massachusetts had only a small black community, so recruits were enlisted from other states including New York, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and even Canada. Among the enlisted men were Frederick Douglass' sons Charles and Lewis. Reaction from the South to black recruitment was swift. The Confederate Congress issued a proclamation that African Americans captured in uniform would be sold into slavery, and white officers of such troops would be executed. Though not carried out, the threat was a grave challenge to every recruit and officer of the Massachusetts 54th. Am ....