452 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The Massachusetts 54th
1 Staring at a once beautiful valley now filled with bodies that serve only as a reminder of
the morning’s gruesome events, a lonely grave digger thinks to himself. Unable to fight in the
Civil War because he is black, he can only bury the soldiers that fight and die for his freedom,
4 On top of their bravery, the members of the Massachusetts 54th exhibited the highest lev-
els of patriotism. Despite the racism and other struggles they faced, they were proud to wear their
uniforms and to carry the Union flag into battle. Their patriotism can best be seen when one ob-
serves the number of deserters from this regiment—none. Despite the thousands of desertions
suffered by many other regiments on the Northern side, not a single soldier deserted from the
regiment had been killed, wounded, or captured.
7 To join an army that didn’t believe in you. To fight with an army who didn’t like you. To
die for an army that didn’t respect you. This was the Massachusetts 54th. Today they lay where
they died, on the beaches of South Carolina. Colonel Shaw and his men were piled together in a
mass grave, which has since been covered by the shifting tides of the Atlantic. A small statue
stands in Boston—a reminder of their sacrifice.
454 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The Massachusetts 54th
Commentary
“The Massachusetts 54th” pays tribute to the first African–American regiment in the U.S. Civil War. In
keeping with the goals of a commemorative speech, the speaker provides enough information about the
Massachusetts 54th for his listeners to understand its accomplishments, but he focuses above all on
engendering admiration and respect for those accomplishments. The speech also shows how students
can use the stylistic devices discussed in Chapter 11. Here is a synopsis of the speech.
Introduction: Paragraphs 1–2 constitute the speech’s introduction. The speaker gains attention by
using vivid language to create an image of the grave digger played by Morgan Freeman in the
film Glory. He then moves quickly to reveal his topic (the Massachusetts 54th) and its signifi-
Body: The body of the speech runs from paragraph 3 through paragraph 7. Paragraph 3 deals with the
bravery of the Massachusetts 54th, paragraph 4 with its patriotism, and paragraphs 5–7 with its
sacrifice. As the speaker develops each point, he provides concrete examples and other details
that allow the audience to visualize the tribulations and triumphs of the 54th. Particularly
noteworthy are his description of the substandard equipment issued to the 54th (paragraph 3),
his explanation of the lack of desertions from the 54th (paragraph 4), and his account of the
assault on Fort Wagner (paragraphs 5–6). Paragraph 7 ends the body by stating that the soldiers
Conclusion: The conclusion begins in paragraph 8 by summarizing the three major traits of the
Massachusetts 54th celebrated in the body of the speech—bravery, patriotism, and sacrifice—
and noting how those traits helped contribute to the end of slavery in the United States.
Paragraph 9 unifies the entire speech by returning to the story of the grave digger played by