|
54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was one of the first coloured
troops in US Federal Army.
It was created by the citizen of Boston Robert G. Shaw, and he became
the first regiments commander
( with a rank colonel ). In the summer of 1863, Federal
Volunteer Negro troops helped open the 22-month
land-and-sea assault on Charleston, South Carolina.
Spearheading an unsuccessful attack on Battery Wagner, the 54th Massachusetts
Regiment suffered
44 percent casualties in hand-to-hand combat, among them the brave
regiments leader
|