Historic 54th Massachusetts to be reactivated

[unhappycamper]

Historic 54th Massachusetts to be reactivated
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Nov 21, 2008 6:13:38 EST

BOSTON — The famed 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is making a comeback.

The all-black unit that won praise during the Civil War for its doomed charge on Battery Wagner in South Carolina in 1863, is being reorganized and redesignated as the Massachusetts National Guard’s ceremonial unit.

Gov. Deval Patrick and Maj. Gen. Joseph Carter, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, are scheduled to hold a Statehouse ceremony on Friday to reactivate the unit.

As a ceremonial unit, the 54th will conduct proper military honors at state functions and at funeral services for veterans.

The unit’s charge on Battery Wagner was commemorated in the 1989 movie “Glory.” For his bravery in that battle, Sgt. William Carney became the first black to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.


Article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_54threactivation_112108/%2e

[dipsydoodle]

1. Thought that rung a bell

Although several African-American regiments were raised during the Civil War to fight alongside the Union Army (including the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldier

I watched the film "Glory" with Denzel Washington recently. I'd recommend that to anyone.