Another poster twice made the statement that the defenders of Fort Wagner considered the men of the 54th Mass to have been nothing but common criminals. But he then went on to say that they were then buried with honor as soldiers.
To me, that is like saying arsenic is deadly poisonous but very good for your health. It cannot be both. It is one thing or another but not both. I am not taking a position one way or the other or trying to push one way or the other.
Some posters now say it is impossible to know what the defenders at the time may have felt, but the laws on the books at the time, and other incidents at the time do show that blacks in uniform were considered to be criminals. It is quite possible that is the way they felt. Others maintain here they were seen as real soldiers no different than white soldiers. That is fine by me also and does makes sense.
It makes absolutely no sense to me though for someone here to try to have it both ways, claiming that the 54th Mass were seen as criminals buried with honor the same as any soldier.