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#OTD 157 years ago the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first sanctioned all Black regiment in the US Army, made its famous attack on Battery Wagner. We'll do a day long celebration of the unit, the men, and the assault. 🇺🇸
#54thMass #BatteryWagner #GiveEmHell54th
#54thMass #BatteryWagner #GiveEmHell54th
While not the first attempt at creating an all Black regiment, the 54th Mass was the first one sanctioned by the War Department after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, and began the enlistment of almost 200,000 Black Americans into the US Army.
The idea of allowing Black men to serve in the Army, either free men or former slaves, was not new. John Fremont and Benjamin Butler had already tried but were rebuked. It wasn't until the Emancipation Proclamation, and New England abolitionists, that they were formally accepted.
