This resource was last featured in the 08-01-2014 Scout Report and, even though the accompanying exhibit ended in 2014, the digital collections of soldiers' portraits and ephemera from the Civil War are well worth another visit. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first military unit consisting of Black soldiers to be raised in the North during the Civil War. This...

For many people, Massachusetts' role in the Civil War may be summed up by the impressive sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens that dominates one corner of the Boston Common. It depicts Colonel Robert Shaw leading the 54th Regiment (which was made up of African Americans) down Beacon Street in 1863 before they went off to battle in South Carolina. Those persons looking to learn more about the role...