USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The most famous enlistees were Charles and Lewis Douglass, two sons of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Did you know?

Detailed explanation-2: -The unit began recruiting in February 1863 and trained at Camp Meigs on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. Prominent abolitionists were active in recruitment efforts, including Frederick Douglass, whose two sons were among the first to enlist.

Detailed explanation-3: -Frederick Douglass’s sons, Charles and Lewis, lived with him in Old Anacostia in Washington, DC, but traveled to Massachusetts to join the 54th Infantry in April 1863.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first military unit consisting of Black soldiers to be raised in the North during the Civil War. Prior to 1863, no concerted effort was made to recruit Black troops as Union soldiers.

Detailed explanation-5: -In early 1863, Douglass was paid $10 per week by the Massachusetts Legislature to recruit African American men for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first Black military unit raised by the North during the Civil War.