African-Americans have fought in every American war since Crispus Attucks was killed in the Revolutionary War and arguably there was no more important war for African-Americans than the Civil War. "Glory", largely based upon the book "Lay this Laurel", is about the 54th Massachusetts regiment during the Civil War which was made up of black soldiers. The movie picks up sometime in 1862 with the war already going on. Not long into the movie the idea is proposed and adopted to incorporate black soldiers. They were very willing but very raw. Many of them were runaway slaves and didn't know the first thing about army life or fighting in a war. It's both a heartwarming and heart-wrenching story that should be a source of pride for any African-American and even any American. It is a very patriotic story about men that wanted to fight for what every American cherishes: freedom. It just so happens that they had to fight for the Union Army to gain that freedom.

Glory allows people to develop an understanding of the issues of the time. The men of the 54th regiment have dealt with slavery, sacrifice and the fight for freedom and respect. It is exciting to watch the growth of the characters throughout the movie. Two examples of characters that showed significant growth are Shaw and Trip. Robert Shaw begins as a captain in the Battle of Antietam who has trouble handling the outcomes of war. By the end, Shaw has advanced to colonel of the 54th massachusetts infantry who is willing to do anything for his men both in and out of battle. Trip starts off as a bitter runaway slave, who through the help of Robert, Rawlins and others, later learns to open up to his fellow soldiers and be a true leader for all. The strength and courage of the 54th regiment allowed them to overcome previous stereotypes and earn the respect of many. This movie is a great representation of the historical events that formed our nation and I would highly recommend it.

This movie is one of my favorite war movies, I really loved how it was focused around a battalion that had freed slaves in it. Because most movies about the civil war don't ever really talk about the fact that slaves did go and join the union after the emancipation act. And even some of the discrimination the soldiers faced in the battalion. Also the characters are all very dynamic and have a nice character arch. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is a matthew broderick fan or someone who is a fan of war movies.

Upon watching, I noticed that this movie portrays the 54th as made up mostly of runaway slaves like Private Trip (Denzel Washington) or John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman). However, it was in fact comprised of many freedmen like Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher) not just from Massachusetts, but New York and Pennsylvania as well. This to me actually reveals the deeper truth about black soldiers in the Civil War, and the attitude towards blacks in general at the time. Southerners believed that blacks were naturally servile, and even Northern abolitionists questioned their manly spirit. By portraying the 54th as runaway slaves, Glory was able to illustrate the fact that blacks were not natural slaves, but men who were in many cases even more willing to fight and die for their freedom than white soldiers. A very solid point that couldn't have been made without poetic license on the director's part, even if that meant stretching history a bit.