The movie starts off with a war scene where Robert Gould Shaw (played by Mathew Broderick) serves as a Captain with the Second Massachusetts Infantry at the Battle of Antietam where he is wounded. After being found by John Rawlins (played by Morgan Freeman) he returns to his parents. Here it is announced that there shall be an all black volunteer regiment formed with the help of Frederick Douglass, and Robert Shaw has been nominated for colonel. At first, it seems like Shaw is a bit hesitant but he soon agrees. The 54th is born.
The movie now follows along with 3 soldiers, as well as Shaw, and his second in command, Major Cabot Forbes, played by Cary Elwes. The first is soldier is Trip, played by Denzel Washington, a bull headed soldier who seems to want to fight the world. The second is the calm and educated Thomas Searles, played by Andre Braugher. The last is John Rawlins who later becomes Sergeant Major, the first rank holding black officer. The viewer begins to see conflicts between member's of the regiment, and between Shaw and his fromer friend Forbes.
To train these "undisciplined" soldiers, Shaw decides to bring in a tough Irish sergeant major named Mulcahy, played by John Finn, to help toughen them up. Mulcahy portrays a typical drill instructor and is especially hard on Thomas Searles. After Mulcahy gets done with the soldiers, the regiment is as disciplined as any in the army. While the training is underway, a conflict about shoes comes up. The black soldiers have not been supplied with shoes, although they urgently need them, because the