Frederick Douglass - 54th and 55th Infantry and 5th Cavalry Memorial - Boston, MA - Etched in Stone on Waymarking.com

In Boston's Readville neighborhood is a common with a monument that has a memorial about the troops trained here during the Civil War. On the monument is a quote from Frederick Douglass, who was a free man who was a vocal abolitionist.

The monument is located on the western part of the green and is near both the basketball and tennis courts. The monument area is a sub green within the common, with the monument on one side of a walkway, a stone cannon on another, and a flag pole a little far off. The stone monument has text on the rear of the monument is as follows:

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters 'US,' let him get an eagle on his button and a musket in his pocket. And there is no power on earth or under the earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.

Frederick Douglass
August 1863"

On the front the monument states that it is dedicated to the 54th and 55th Infantry and the 5th Cavalry. In addition, the bottom has the following:

"Dedicated to the African American Troops who trained here and distinguished themselves in the Civil War - and to those who continue the fight for equal rights and equal justice."

Frederick Douglass was an African-American who was a staunch and vocal abolitionist. He lived from 1818 to 1895. He was born in slavery but escaped to New Bedford and became a free man before the Civil War.

One of the troops on the marker, the 54th, is the same troop featured in the movie, 'Glory.' This troop is considered the first Arican-American volunteer troops in the country. The web site referenced indicated that Douglass was instrumental in recruiting African-Americans as soldiers and this quote was likely from his recruiting. The speech was specifically in the speech, 'Should the Negro Elist in the Union Army?' July 6, 1863.

Additional Source:

marx.org (Frederick Douglass):
(visit link)

Address: Bounded by Hyde Park Ave, Stanbro St, Clifford St, and Parkson St. Website: [Web Link]

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