Autograph Manuscript Signed, comprising his list of men recruited for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and an account of his travels and the resulting expenses in that effort.
$350,000 · Offered by Biblio
First edition · Signed
This newly discovered manuscript documents the realization of Frederick Douglass's dream that Black soldiers would fight for the cause of freedom in the Civil War. In this manuscript Douglass recruits African-American men to serve in the newly organized 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. One of the first Black units in the Army, the 54th Massachusetts quickly became the most celebrated Black regiment of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 opened the way for Black men to fight for the Union cause. Frederick Douglass, who called the Proclamation "the greatest event of the century," helped lead the effort to mobilize African-Americans to fight in the war. He wrote, "A war undertaken and brazenly carried on for the perpetual enslavement of colored men calls logically and loudly for colored men to help suppress it." To Douglass, fighting in the war would help cement the claim of Black Americans to full citizenship. In March Douglass launched an extensive tour of New York, delivering his "Men of Color, to Arms, to Arms!" speech and enlisting recruits for the now-celebrated 54th Massachusetts Infantry. This previously unknown manuscript documents that recruiting drive. The first six pages cover March and April, when the recruits for the 54th Mass. were being enlisted. Douglass records his recruiting trips, associated travel and communication expenses, and the transport, lodging, medical, and food expenses for enlistees. Fellow abolitionist George Luther Stea
- Year: 1863
- Edition: First Edition
- Binding: hardcover
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