*Includes pictures of important people, places, and events. *Includes accounts of the fighting at Fort Wagner written by some of the 54th's soldiers. *Profiles men of the 54th, including Robert Gould Shaw. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. “A deserted homestead is always a sad sight, but here in the South we must look a little deeper than the surface, and then we see that every such overgrown plantation, and empty house, is a harbinger of freedom to the slaves, and every lover of his country, even if he have no feeling for the slaves themselves, should rejoice.” – Robert Gould Shaw From the Stonewall Brigade to the Iron Brigade, Americans have long been fascinated by the Civil War’s most famous and legendary units, and many are familiar with the 20th Maine’s defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg. But ironically, perhaps the most famous regiment of the entire war today is the 54th Massachusetts, which was one of the first and ultimately the best known regiment that consisted of black soldiers.