Civil War-54th Massachusettes

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other states including New York, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and even Canada. Among the enlisted men were Frederick Douglass' sons Charles and Lewis.
Reaction from the South to black recruitment was swift. The Confederate Congress issued a proclamation that African Americans captured in uniform would be sold into slavery, and white officers of such troops would be executed. Though not carried out, the threat was a grave challenge to every recruit and officer of the Massachusetts 54th. Among those calling for the authorization of black soldiers in the Civil War was Frederick Douglass, who felt that military service would signal African Americans' freedom from slavery and citizenship status. Douglass said, "Let the slaves and free colored people be called into service, and formed into a liberating army, to march into the South and raise the banner of emancipation among the slaves....Men of Color, To Arms!"
Training began as soon as recruits began arriving and continued until the ...

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