Metal stencil of C.F. Johnson. Approx. 4 7/16 x 1 7/8 in. Reads: "C.F. Johnson, / [illeg.] ILL. / Co. H. 54th, Mass. Regt." 

Charles F. Johnson was a 20-year-old farmer from Chicago, Illinois, almost certainly a free black man. His mustering documents note that he was 5'6" with a dark complexion, brown eyes, and black hair. (National Archives, US. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865). He enlisted at Readville, Massachusetts on 21 April 1863 into Company H of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was organized in March 1863 by Robert Gould Shaw, the son of a notable Boston abolitionist. Composed primarily of free northern blacks, including two sons of iconic abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the regiment carried the expectations of an enslaved race on their shoulders. Men like Johnson rose to the occasion. Colonel Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick in Glory) was killed during the regiment’s historic charge at Battery Wagner in South Carolina and was buried in a mass grave with his fallen troops. Intended as an insult, it became an eternal honor.

Johnson saw notable action at Battery Wagner and the Battle of Olustee. He likely lost this stencil at the latter, as it was ultimately discovered at the nearby Confederate Camp Milton. Johnson mustered out with the regiment on 20 August 1865 at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. 

Relics from the 54th Massachusetts are highly sought after and items from the Black enlisted men are particularly scarce. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [USCT, United States Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] [Relics, Militaria]