10. Once in action the 54th found they were to be paid less than promised
When recruits joined the 54th at Camp Meigs, their inducements were their uniforms and other clothing, subsistence at the expense of the army, and pay equal to those of white troops. Privates were to receive $13 per month. Upon arrival in South Carolina, the responsibility for paying them shifted to the military Department of the South. That authority informed them that a private would be paid $10 per month, with $3 held back to offset the cost of their uniforms and other equipment. By contrast, white troops of the army received their full pay, and were not liable to pay for upkeep of their clothing. The pay reduction did not apply to the 54th‘s white officers.
Shaw protested loudly, to the Department of the South and to the governor of Massachusetts and other authorities, once again ignoring the military’s chain of command. He refused to accept his own pay and urged his officers and men to do the same. Massachusetts responded by offering to make up the difference in pay. Shaw and his regiment simply refused to show up on paydays and collect their due until the matter was officially resolved by the Army. Eventually took action by the US Congress for the men of the 54th to receive the pay at the levels they were promised, but by that time many of the men who were owed back amounts were dead, as were several of their officers.