Raising of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment

This record is a letter from Massachusetts Adjutant General William Schouler, informing the Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer for Boston that he has been authorized to raise a regiment of Black recruits, to be designated the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. 

President Abraham Lincoln called for the raising of Black regiments following the Emancipation Proclamation, and Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, an abolitionist, quickly answered Lincoln’s call. The 54th Massachusetts, one of the first Black regiments in the Civil War, gained prominence in the film Glory. The National Archives at Boston holds a number of Civil War muster and recruiting records in Record Group 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War).

View and download the Chief Mustering & Disbursement Officer, Letters and Telegrams Received, 1861-1867 [Folder 2] on our online Catalog. This record is one example of the many records of mustering and disbursing held in the National Archives at Boston, Massachusetts. You can explore more records held at the National Archives at Boston by visiting our online Catalog or by visiting the National Archives at Boston, Massachusetts. This record is located within Record Group 110: Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Series: Records Relating to Mustering and Disbursing, 1861-1867. Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives at Boston.