Civil War

Boston resident Barbara Lewis found the grave in a western Massachusetts cemetery of her paternal great-great-grandfather, Jeremiah Bradley, who fought in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, the unit featured in the 1989 movie “Glory” and in a bas relief monument on Boston Common.

William Benjamin Gould’s remarkable life, leading from bondage in the antebellum South to a daring escape and service in the Union Navy, was celebrated over Memorial Day weekend with the dedication of a bronze statue in Dedham, the town where he settled and raised his family after the Civil War.

Despite Boston's reputation for liberal politics, Blacks living here in the 1800s faced rigid barriers to employment and were often relegated to domestic service and other low-paying menial work.

Hundreds of dignitaries gathered in front of the State House last week for the rededication of the newly-restored Robert Gould Shaw 54th Massachusetts Regiment memorial.

The Boston African American National Historic Site’s “Faces of the 54th” soldier and officer database has collected the names and details of over 1,500 men who served with the volunteer 54th Massachusetts Regiment between 1863 and 1865, when the Civil War ended.