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Knox College Library
Special Collections and Archives
371 S. West Street
Galesburg, IL 61401-4999
“The 54th Regiment Massachusettes Volunteer Infantry was the first military unit composed of men of African descent to be raised in Massachusetts. The first members assembled in February 1863. The unit soon included members from Massachusetts and from other states. Thirty men from Illinois joined the Regimant, including twelve Galesburg men in Company H.”
-- H.R. Muelder, A Hero Home From the War...
Gallant Charge of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment by Currier & Ives
Click here for a larger image.
On July 16, 1863, at James Island, South Carolina, Corp. Samuel Wells and John Davis were wounded. John W. Dickinson was captured. All three were Galesburg men. The disastrous assault on Fort Wagner at Morris Island, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, resulted in the loss of several officers, including Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Over 125 men were wounded and more than 100 were missing. Henry Kirk and Preston Williams of Galesburg were wounded, and Kirk was captured. Additional losses were suffered on February 20, 1864 at Olustee, Florida. The regiment mustered out on August 20, 1865.
The film Glory (Tristar, 1989, Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw) is based on the regiment's service.
A Hero Home from the War: Among the Black Citizens of Galesburg, Illinois 1860-1880. Hermann R. Muelder, Knox College Library, Galesburg, IL 1987.
A History of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865. Luis Emilio, Boston Book Co., Boston, 1891.