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1890 Broadside Massachusetts in the Rebellion of 1861-65 Author/Compiler Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:600.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,600.00 USD
1890 Broadside Massachusetts in the Rebellion of 1861-65 Author/Compiler Signed
Civil War Prints
1890 Red & Blue Printed Broadside Poster “Massachusetts in the Published Rebellion of 1861 to 1865.” Signed & Inscribed “George H. Leavens Author and Compiler Beachmont, Revere Mass.” - Compiled and Copyrighted 1890
“Compiled and Copyrighted, 1890.” Massive Broadside titled, "MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION OF 1861 TO 1865. REPRESENTING THE VARIOUS ARMS OF SERVICE. ALSO LOSS IN EACH ORGANIZATION, WITH NAMES OF FIELD OFFICERS, STATISTICS, &c, &c.", Printed by A.C. GETCHELL, Boston.
“Compiled and Copyrighted, 1890.” Massive Broadside titled, "MASSACHUSETTS IN THE REBELLION OF 1861 TO 1865. REPRESENTING THE VARIOUS ARMS OF SERVICE. ALSO LOSS IN EACH ORGANIZATION, WITH NAMES OF FIELD OFFICERS, STATISTICS, &c, &c.", Printed by A.C. GETCHELL, Boston. Dated 1890 at upper right, printed in bold Red and Blue on off-White Wove period paper, measuring a huge 28.75" high x 22" wide, clean, lightly folded for storage having just a few small edge tears or splits from light handling. Written at top, just below the title, fully writtin by his own hand, it reads: "George H. Leavens, Author and Compiler. Beachmont, Revere, Mass.".

What follows is an exhaustive compilation of historic information concerning Massachusetts Military Service during the American Civil War. This cataloger has not been able to locate another example of this wonderful impressive Broadside existent in an online search. This Broadside is fresh to market, out of an old archive of ephemera from a prominent North Andover, Massachusets family estate. This extraordinary G.A.R. Broadside would look highly impressive once flattened and properly framed for display.

Broadside was custom produced exclusively for the “Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Massachusetts. 23rd Annual Encampment, February, 1890. 199 Posts. 21,697 Members.” Each major unit from Massachusetts is listed with a short description of service record. It includes the historic Mass. Army Black Soldier Unit, 54th Regiment: (Best portrayed in the movie “GLORY”) listing its action at “Ft. Wagner ... Col. R. G. Shaw K, buried in a trench at Wagner”.

This is an authentic, original 1890 Color Broadside, apparently the exact printed copy purposefully saved by, "George H. Leavens, Author and Compiler. Beachmont, Revere, Mass."
The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first military unit consisting of Black soldiers to be raised in the North during the Civil War. Prior to 1863, no concerted effort was made to recruit Black troops as Union soldiers.

The adoption of the Emancipation Proclamation in December of 1862 provided the impetus for the recruitment of free Black men as soldiers and, at a time when state governors were responsible for the raising of regiments for federal service, Massachusetts was the first to respond with the formation of the Fifty-fourth Regiment.

On 16 July 1863, serving as a diversion for the intended attack on Morris Island, South Carolina, the Fifty-fourth Regiment saw its first action on James Island, losing forty-five men. On 18 July, after several days with little sleep, food or water, the regiment was instructed to lead the attack against Fort Wagner on Morris Island (see an 1863 watercolor of Morris Island from Fort Wagner by Henry Webber).

In the disastrous assault led by Colonel Shaw, the 54th suffered very heavy losses, including the loss of their commander, and nearly half of the men present were killed, wounded, or missing. Despite this, the unit showed exceptional bravery and honor, never retreating as they waited for the reinforcements which would never arrive.

While the Fifty-fourth Regiment suffered heavy losses at Fort Wagner, there is no evidence that the unit was chosen because they were thought of simply as cannon fodder. When the news of the attack reached home, the unit which had been the target of so much attention, publicity, and skepticism finally earned the respect it deserved.

Despite the defeat at Fort Wagner, the recruitment of Black soldiers in the 54th was viewed as a success and opened the way for numerous other Black units in the Union Army for the remainder of the war.