Today in History

January 26, 1863
A Military First
Less than a month after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, the Union War Department authorizes the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry—the nation's first all black regiment. In July at Fort Wagner, S.C., the regiment would suffer catastrophic casualties, but the men's valor would be widely reported and prompt further enlistment of African-American troops.












 



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