Across the street from the State House on Boston’s Beacon Hill stands an imposing bronze relief sculpture. Although years of New England weather have dulled its glint, when the sun shines on it, the scene it depicts still comes to life. At the center rides a nineteenth-century military officer. He is surrounded by marching soldiers, young and old, with muskets resting on their shoulders. Above them hovers an angel of peace – a young woman in a flowing gown with her hand gesturing toward the horizon. The officer and his men advance under her aegis and direction. He is a white Union commander, and they are African American soldiers.

What is the purpose of this “symphony in bronze”? Why does it face the State House? Inscribed on the back of the monument, the words of Charles W. Eliot, Harvard’s twenty-first president, offer an explanation:

According to Eliot’s statement, the young soldiers stand for more than themselves. They represent an entire population: not only their many brothers who had fought in America’s Civil War, but also all “Americans of African descent.”

The monument portrays the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry. Formed in March 1863, this regiment consisted entirely of African American soldiers who, seizing on a clause in Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, flocked from far and wide to take up arms for the Union. They ended up serving for a year and a half without pay.