On May 28, 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, which was the first black regiment in the Civil War, arrived in Boston after completing its training at Camp Meigs and marched to the State House, with its commander Robert Gould Shaw, for the formal presentation of the regiment’s colors.

In attendance at the presentation were William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips and Frederick Douglass, whose two sons were members of the regiment.

Source: historyofMassachusetts.org