The Officers of the 54th also came from differing backgrounds. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and all other commissioned officers at the time of the unit’s creation in 1863 were White. The officers typically came from families of privilege and wealth and generally had abolitionist leanings. Following a lengthy campaign to elevate Black enlisted officers into ranks of commissioned leadership, a select few, such as Stephen Swails and Peter Vogelsang, finally worked their way up the ranks after enlisting in 1863.
