TV Reviews : ‘Colored Infantry’ Views Race in 1860s

At the heart of “The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry,” an “American Experience” documentary airing tonight at 8 p.m. on KVCR Channel 24 and at 9 p.m. on KCET Channel 28 and KPBS Channel 15, is the story of the first regiment of free black men to fight as soldiers for the Union Army in the Civil War.

But the highly informative, well-detailed program goes far beyond the specific unit, which assembled in Boston in 1863 as a direct result of President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It also describes, with remarkably clear archival photographs, etchings from the period, interviews and narration by actor Morgan Freeman, the racial climate of the United States prior to, and after, the regiment’s inception.

The first of 178,975 black men to fight for the Union, the 1,000 men of the 54th--who were the inspiration for the moving film “Glory”--came from Boston and other climes, were barbers and seamen, dentists and students, and proved, to the surprise of their critics, to be tough as nails. They fought gamely at many battles, particularly the unsuccessful attempt to take a huge Confederate installation at Ft. Wagner, S.C., in the fall of 1863.

This battle provides the climax to “Glory,” perhaps because the film was largely based upon the letters and diary of its leader, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, who died during the conflict. But the 54th, apparently replenished with fresh troops, continued to fight throughout the war, eventually returning to Boston in mid-1865.

Several engaging musical pieces underpin the program, which was produced and directed by Jacqueline Shearer, who also co-scripted with Leslie Lee.