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Feb 7, 2023 8 tweets 6 min read Read on X
UNIT PROFILE – 54TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY REGIMENT

The Emancipation Proclamation’s promulgation in 1863 opened the Union Army’s ranks to Black soldiers for the first time, allowing Black Americans to fight for the Union’s preservation and the end of slavery.
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was among the first all-Black units to be stood up. Led by COL Robert Gould Shaw (scion of a prominent abolitionist family) and promoted by prominent figures like Frederick Douglass, the 54th was flooded with recruits.
Despite Confederate promises to punish captured Black soldiers and their white officers with summary execution for promoting “servile insurrection,” the 54th marched to war in high spirits, leaving Boston on 28 MAY.
#CivilWar #CivilWarHistory #ArmyHeritage #MilitaryHistory
From 18 – 19 JUL the Union began operations to capture Fort Wagner (a critical part of the harbor defenses of Charleston, South Carolina) following an early unsuccessful attack from 10 – 11 JUL.
#BlackHistoryMonth
#54thMassachusetts #Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC @USArmy
Deploying a force of 5,000 infantry in a frontal assault, the Union placed the 54th in the vanguard of the attack force, sending them charging across an open field towards Ft. Wagner under withering rifle and artillery fire rained on them by the 1,800 Confederate defenders.
COL Shaw led the 54th up the fortifications, rallying his men with a cry of “Forward Fifty-Fourth!” from atop the ramparts before being killed. Despite their commander’s death the 54th pushed on, engaging the rebels in bitter hand-to-hand fighting.

@TRADOC @TradocCG
Despite 54th’s best efforts, the Union was unable to break through the fort’s defenses; the 54th paid an exorbitant price for its extraordinary valor, suffering a staggering 42% casualty rate (280 of the 600 of its men who fought in the Second Battle of Ft. Wagner).
The stories of the 54th’s heroism quickly spread across the Union, motivating Black Americans to enlist in the U.S. Army. Between 1863 and 1865 nearly 200,000 Black soldiers served the cause of liberty, contributing roughly 10% of the U.S. Army’s Civil War manpower.

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More from @USArmyCMH

Feb 17
SOLDIER PROFILE – LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARITY ADAMS
BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Charity Adams set the blueprint for Black women in the U.S. Army as the commander of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, becoming the highest-ranking Black female soldier in the Army during WWII. Adams
@USArmy @TRADOC @TRADOCCSM @TradocDCG @TradocCG @FortGreggAdams Adams’ service with the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) began in 1942 when the Army commissioned her to serve as a staff training officer, station control officer, and company commander.

#USArmy #TRADOC #WWII #WW2 #WW2History #WWIIHistory #WAC #BlackHistoryMonth
@USArmy @TRADOC @TRADOCCSM @TradocDCG @TradocCG @FortGreggAdams In 1943, she received a promotion to MAJ, making her the highest-ranking woman at the training center. By 1944, she was commanding the 6888th, the first unit of Black WACs to serve abroad. Their mission was to route soldiers’ mail, handling ~65,000 pieces of mail a day. Adams
Read 7 tweets
Feb 11
SOLDIER PROFILE – SERGEANT WILLIAM CARNEY, MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT
BLACK HISTORY MONTH

One of 18 Black Civil War soldiers to earn the Medal of Honor, Sergeant William Carney fought for the cause of liberty as part of the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Inf. Regt.
#USArmy
Carney
Carney
Carney earned his Medal of Honor at the tragic Second Battle of Fort Wagner, when the men of the 54th heroically assaulted Confederate fortifications against overwhelming odds.

#CivilWar #CivilWarHistory #MedalOfHonor #USCT #MOH #BlackHistoryMonth #ArmyHistory #MilitaryHistory
One of the most dangerous battlefield roles during the Civil War was that of color bearer; soldiers carrying the regimental and national flags were easy targets for enemy fire, and the enemy often attempted to capture the colors to reduce unit morale.
#TRADOC @USArmy @TRADOC Carney
Read 7 tweets
Nov 2, 2023
ACTIVE-DUTY DIVISION PROFILES – 1ST ARMORED DIVISION (OLD IRONSIDES)

The 1st Armored Division is the U.S. Army’s oldest tank formation, and throughout its history “Old Ironsides” (an homage to the USS Constitution) has meted out armored hammer-blows against America’s foes. Image
Founded in 1940, the 1st AD was the Army’s answer to the Nazi blitzkrieg juggernaut scything through Europe. After extensive training, the 1st AD saw its first action in North Africa, landing as part of the Operation TORCH invasion on 8 NOV 1942.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC
After a hard-fought campaign against Rommel’s vaunted Afrika Korps, Old Ironsides was sent to Italy, landing at Naples on 28 OCT 1943 to reinforce the Allied push up the peninsula, where it fought the Germans until the final surrender of Axis forces in Italy on 2 MAY 1945. Image
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Aug 24, 2023
FORT A.P. HILL OFFICIALLY RENAMED FORT WALKER

On 25 AUG 2023, the U.S. Army’s Fort A.P. Hill will be renamed Fort Walker. The post will now honor Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Union Army physician and the only woman ever decorated with the Medal of Honor.

#Armyhistory #USArmy
Image
Image
Dr. Walker was a trailblazing figure in American history, becoming a doctor during a time when women were not widely accepted in the physician’s profession and serving her country as the Union Army’s only female surgeon during the Civil War.

#TRADOC #CivilWar #CivilWarHistory
When the Civil War began, Walker offered her services as a surgeon to the Union Army, although they initially rejected her because of her gender and offered her a place as a nurse.

#MedalOfHonor #MOH #MilitaryHistory #FortWalker #DrMaryWalker @USArmy @TRADOC @SecArmy Image
Read 7 tweets
Jul 23, 2023
SOLDIER PROFILE - GEN ULYSSES S. GRANT

General Ulysses S. Grant, the man who would save the Union and become the greatest general of his time, started his ascent to the pinnacle of American greatness from humble beginnings.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #CivilWar Image
Born the son of a tanner, Grant’s military career began at West Point in 1839. When the War with Mexico broke out in 1846, then-Lieutenant Grant earned a reputation as an excellent small-unit commander, earning multiple citations for bravery and merit.
#CivilWarHistory
Grant left the Army in 1854, but when President Lincoln called for men to take up arms to suppress the Confederate rebellion in 1861, he answered the nation’s call and rejoined the force.

#USGrant #MilitaryHistory @USArmy @TRADOC @SecArmy @ArmyChiefStaff Image
Read 8 tweets
Jul 5, 2023
5 JULY 1814 – BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA

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#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC
After an American advance into British-controlled Canada led by MG James Wilkinson was checked just north of the border in MAR 1814, MG Jacob Brown led 3,500 American troops across the Niagara River on 3 JUL to seize Fort Erie.

#WarOf1812 #WarOf1812History #MilitaryHistory
In subsequent troop maneuvers in the Niagara region on 5 JUL, BG Winfield Scott's brigade of 1,300 men (part of Brown's command), was unexpectedly confronted by a large British force while were preparing for drill.

#WinfieldScott #Chippewa @USArmy @TRADOC
Read 7 tweets

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