Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial in Boston rededicated after $3 million renovation

BOSTON - A newly restored monument honoring a famed Civil War unit of Black soldiers in Boston was officially rededicated Wednesday.

The bronze and stone memorial honors Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment on Boston Common across from the State House. Many of the descendants of the soldiers of the 54th Regiments came out to honor their history.

"We don't always talk about African Americans in the Revolutionary War," said Philecia Harris, a decendant of one of the members of the regiment.

The $3 million restoration project began back in the summer of 2020 when the sculpture was taken down and brought to a studio in Woburn. It was reset on a repaired marble and stone foundation in March of 2021. The 11x14 foot bronze sculpture is more than a century old and water damage had weakened its brick core.

"Being here today, it gives me a lot of pride because this is my legacy this is my history," said Doreen Wade, a fifth generation granddaughter of a member of the 54th Regiment. "I've been trying to hold in my emotions all day it's hard. I am who I am today because of the men that are in the 54th."

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was featured in the 1989 Oscar-winning movie "Glory."

At Wednesday's ceremony, there was a re-enactment of Shaw and his men marching up Beacon Street past the State House on May 28, 1863, as seen in the memorial. It was originally unveiled in 1897.

"We understand what the sacrifices were and what our family went through and the diaspora and what it means, the separation. It's overwhelming at times," said decendant Everett Butcher.