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1- They were an all-Black regiment. There were other black regiments organized from ex-slaves as the Union army moved through the Southern States. This unit was raised within Massachusetts from free men and some ex-slaves who had escaped the South.

2- This black regiment distinguished itself in battle. Many black soldiers did not see combat and some did not perform well in combat. The 54th Mass had at least one man earn the Medal of Honor.

3- It had a movie made about it: called "Glory". Several books have been published about it and the memoirs of its commander.


4- Not all of the regiment was killed in the battle of Fort Wagner, as the movie implies.
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14y ago
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16y ago

Because as one of the earliest black regiments, they would show by their performance on the battlefield whether blacks could prove to be American Soldiers. They proved it.

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Q: Why was the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry so important to the history of the US Civil War?
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