The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry
This item is included in the following series/curriculum: American Experience Series
- Grade Level: Junior High (7-9)-Adult
- Subjects: Multiculturalism, History
- Produced By: WGBH
- Year: 1991
- Country: United States
- Language: English
- Running Time: 60m
- Captions:
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Two years into the Civil War, free men of color were still denied the right to fight for the end of slavery. Weeks after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the governor of Massachusetts was authorized to raise the first northern black regiment, referred to at the time as "the Massachusetts 54th colored infantry." American Experience follows the adventures of the 54th as well as those of individual members, including Lewis and Charles Douglass, sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Luis Emilio, who chronicled the regiment's movements; and James Gooding, whose letters were published as a column in his hometown newspaper.