Ralph Johnson was an African American soldier with black eyes and black hair who was in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. He enlisted in Readville, MA on March 16th,1863 for a 3-year term in Company D.[3] Unfortunately, he died the same year he enlisted at Morris Island, SC of disease on September 19th, 1863 in Requielate Hospital. His occupation was a farmer/laborer and he lived in Carroll County, Maryland.[4] He was marked as present from March 30th to June 30th in 1863, but between July and August, Ralph Johnson was sick in quarters. He was a Private under Capt. Edward L. Jones.[3]

Ralph Johnson was part of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry which was also known as the “Swamp Angels."[1] This regiment was one of the first official African-American units in the United States during the Civil War because the Emancipation Proclamation allowed African Americans to fight in the war for their freedom.[2] Many men from different states started to volunteer to fight in the war. The Civil War was fought over slavery and the African Americans wanted to fight for themselves. Robert Gould Shaw, who was from a family of abolitionists, came to lead the 54th Massachusetts. When the war was almost over, the soldiers refused to be paid because white people were paid a little more and they protested until they were equally paid for equal work. On July 18, 1863, the 54th Massachusetts planned to attack Fort Wagner. When they got over the wall they realized that there were more Confederate soldiers waiting inside the fort than expected. All went wrong, 281 Union soldiers were killed, with Shaw being one of them, he was shot in the chest and died. The Union soldiers lost the battle at Fort Wagner, but they still made an impact. After the war the Confederates left the fort. [1]

Citations
[1] History.com Staff. "The 54th Massachusetts Infantry." History.com. 2010. Accessed June 08, 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/the-54th-massachusetts-infantry.
[2] "Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791." Massachusetts Historical Society: 54th Regiment. Accessed June 08, 2017. http://www.masshist.org/online/54thregiment/essay.php?entryid=528. [3] "Ralph Johnson: person, pictures and information." Fold3. Accessed June 08, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/638040679ralph_johnson/details/.
[4] "Civil War Database." Soldier History, Ralph Johnson. Accessed June 08, 2017. http://civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?U&21133.