The movie Glory is an accurate portrayal of the African American experience in the union army. The movie shows how African Americans were being discriminated, they were used to plundering goods, and their willingness to fight for freedom. The 54th has made it clear that they were not giving up in a fight.
When Massachusetts started the 54th regiment over 1,000 African Americans volunteered to fight for their country. When the African American men were marching into the camp, as seen in Glory, the white soldiers would yell at them. The other union army that is supposed to supply the 54th with clothing and shoes did not send anything. They didn’t supply them with the necessary things because they didn’t want African Americans to wear the same uniform as them. For about a couple of weeks after the 54th started training in their regular shoes. Robert Shaw saw that they were starting to get rotten feet, so he went to the head general’s office and demanded that he send shoes for his army. Believe it or not the head general sent the shoes to the 54th. In the army all the soldiers are supposed to get paid $13, but African American soldiers were only paid $10. “The 54th Massachusetts was commanded by Robert Shaw and
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‘Our whole experience, so far, has been in loading and discharging vessels,’ he wrote to Brigadier General George C. Strong, commander of Montgomery’s brigade. ‘Colored soldiers should be associated as much as possible with the white troops, in order that they may have other witnesses besides their own officers to what they are capable of doing.’ That opportunity finally arrived on the morning of July 16, 1863. Fighting alongside white troops on James Island, Shaw’s men acquitted themselves well in a sharp skirmish.”(William 2) This quote is telling us how Shaw acted upon the situation. Not only were the 54th used to plunder they were also willing to die for