A determined and far-reaching recruitment effort provided soldiers for the black regiments.
In Massachusetts, recruitment of troops occurred mainly on a local level, with each city or town given a series of quotas to fulfill. Governor John Andrew, an early proponent of black military service, finally gained permission to establish a Massachusetts black regiment on January 26, 1863. New recruiting methods were needed as Massachusetts itself did not have a large enough black population to fill one. African-Americans from other states also sought ways to enlist in order to seek freedom for their black brothers in bondage.
Recruiting agents for the Massachusetts black regiments were established in a number of states, with most joining from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio. Prominent members of the African-American community, including Frederick Douglass and Lewis Hayden, were involved in promoting recruiting efforts. These efforts provided not only enough men to form the 54th infantry, but a second regiment, the 55th, as well.
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston, an Oberlin College graduate and the first black lawyer in Ohio, was the western recruiting agent for the Massachusetts 54th and 55th regiments.
Courtesy of Oberlin College Archives
Enlistment roll, 1863-1864
This roll of Bristol County recruits includes descriptions of African-Americans assigned to the 54th Infantry and the 5th Cavalry. The occupation “hostler” describes one who cares for horses - an ideal background for a soldier in a cavalry unit.
Massachusetts Archives
Barracks at Readville
Camp Meigs at Readville (then part of Dedham, now Hyde Park) was the major Massachusetts rendezvous camp where recruits were sent and regiments formed and trained, including the 54th Infantry (which left May 28, 1863), the 55th Infantry (left July 7 1863) and the 5th Cavalry (left May 5-8, 1864).
Illustration by C.W. Reed, from Hardtack and Coffee, by John Billings