The Emancipation Proclamation authorized this infantry that was organized in the northern states during the Civil War and was commanded by RObert GOuld Shaw.
Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837  July 18, 1863) was an American soldier in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. 
 Born into a prominent abolitionist family, he accepted command of the first all-black regiment (54th Massachusetts) in the Northeast and encouraged the men to refuse their pay until it was equal to the white troops wage. 
 The unit was the first African-American regiment organized in the northern states during the Civil War. 
 Authorized by the Emancipation Proclamation, the regiment consisted of African-American enlisted men commanded by white officers. 
