So many amazing 54th Massachusetts guys I'd love to share! I've been working on these profiles for over two years now. They were the first federally authorized regiment to enlist men of color (mostly Black, and white or Indigenous mixed with Black, plus the white COs), so this is also a perfect Civil War tie-in to Black History Month.
Here are a few gentlemen we know or suspect were operators on the Underground Railroad:
Reverend James R. Newby - also notable for being the first Black US Navy apprentice, at 11 years old, no less!
Private Lewis West - he and his wife had strong connections to abolitionist and likely Underground Railroad operator Lydia Hamilton Smith
Here are a few of the gentlemen who made it their business to break glass ceilings:
1st Lieutenant Stephen Atkins Swails - aside from being the first commissioned officer of African descent (white Americans are often shocked by how white he looks; which - side note - is a great way to start digging into the racialized American history we aren't always taught in schools. Relevant search terms include partus sequitir ventrem, one-drop rule), he also served as a mayor in Kingstree, South Carolina during Reconstruction and as a county auditor.
Private Toussaint L'Ouverture Delaney was the child of famous glass ceiling breaker Major and Dr. Martin Robison Delany who served with the 104th United States Colored Troops (USCT) during the war and was one of the first three men of African descent to be admitted to the Harvard Medical School. Check out his profile for how long he was able to attend before protests from white students ended this first attempt at receiving a medical education. His male children, including 54th's Private Delaney, were educated at Wilberforce University.
As of today, only about 50% of the burial places of 54th soldiers have been identified. And amidst over 1,200 men, only about 40 images of the soldiers have surfaced, and that includes photos of their wives who made sacrifices while they served with no pay for about 1.5 years during the war. These are probably the best numbers for any Black Civil War troops, and the 55th Massachusetts and all the USCT regiments could also use some deep research! Lucy Selvaggio-Diaz has done some great work on the 55th, and a few folks have contributed a profile here and there for others of the 54th, 55th and USCT.