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The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company A Marches on!

Photograph by, Rebecca Velasquez

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment was reactivated on November 21, 2008 to serve as the Massachusetts National Guard ceremonial unit to render military honors at funerals and state functions. The new unit is now known as the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment.

Along with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, Reenactors,The regiment will again march is President Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade on January 21, 2013. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Company A, Reenactors, is lead by Lieutenant Benny White.

2013 Inaugural Parade Participants

Below is a list of the organizations that have accepted an invitation to march in the 57th Inaugural Parade. Invitations are being made and accepted as part of an ongoing process, so please check back for rolling additions to this list.

Organizations wishing to participate in the parade submitted online applications to the Joint Task Force – National Capital Region (JTF-NCR). The deadline for submissions was November 30, 2012. The JTF-NCR then compiled all of the eligible applicants to be reviewed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. A final list of applicants was selected to receive invitations. All told, more than 2,807 applications were submitted to the JTF-NCR website.

The parade was originally scheduled to start around 2:30 p.m. but was delayed by the Inauguration luncheon in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, which was also behind schedule. The procession, which included 59 groups and 8,800 people, started to leave Capitol Hill around 3:15 p.m., went west along Constitution Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue and ended at 17th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House.

Groups invited to participate in the parade are listed alphabetically below.

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company B
Silver Spring, Maryland

54TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER REGIMENT COMPANY A
During the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment became the Union Army’s first formally organized unit made up of free black men. Today’s company is made up of civilian re-enactment personnel in Civil War-period uniforms that keep alive the legacy of the unit through living history displays, educational briefings to the general public and Civil War period encampments and re-enactments.