Who were the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts?

Answer 1

The Fifty Fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was one of the first official all black regiments of the U.S. armed services. This regiment consisted of free men primarily recruited at a local church and deployed from Readville, MA, which is today considered part the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Due to an overwhelming number of volunteers for the regiment, the recruiters had the luxury of being extremely selective and therefore put forth a regiment of extraordinarily healthy men who unfortunately took very heavy casualties during several heroic battles of the civil war.