1. The 54th, led by Robert Gould Shaw, son of prominent (white) abolitionists, consisted largely of former slaves. False.

Glory leads viewers to believe that most (though not all) of the men who served under Shaw (pictured here) were former slaves. Although this conceit adds to the impact of the film—making the 54th's struggle for recognition and an equal place in the war a mirror of the general African American struggle for freedom and equality—it veers far from historical fact. Most of the men who volunteered for the 54th were born freemen from middle-class backgrounds. In fact, two soldiers in the 54th were sons of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

2. The unsuccessful but heroic attack on Fort Wagner, SC, in which the Confederates killed or captured approximately 50% of the regiment, was the last battle in which the 54th served. False.

Glory ends with the 54th's attack on Fort Wagner, and the losses its men suffered. This gives the impression that the regiment dissolved after the Fort Wagner assault. In reality, the 54th went on to fight in several more battles and skirmishes, including the Battle of Olustee (in Florida) the Battle of Honey Hill (in South Carolina), and the Battle of Boykin's Mill (also in South Carolina).

3. The bravery of the 54th at Fort Wagner inspired Congress to authorize raising other African American troops for the Union army. False.

The ending caption in Glory—"As word of their bravery spread, Congress at last authorized the raising of black troops throughout the Union"—is inaccurate. According to historian James M. McPherson, Congress had authorized the mustering of further African American troops "months earlier."

Further, though it might be easy to believe otherwise while watching the film, the 54th was not the first African American regiment—the U.S. government began enlisting African Americans as early as 1862, almost a year before the 54th's formation in March 1863.

4. A member of the regiment was flogged for desertion, in keeping with standard military punishments at the time. False.

One of the most often described moments in the film, when former slave Trip reveals his scarred back before receiving a flogging for desertion, is unlikely to have ever happened in life. Leaving aside the character's fictional nature (like many of Glory's characters, except Shaw, Trip was created for the film), a soldier would not have been flogged as punishment in 1863—according to historian Joseph T. Glatthar, flogging was outlawed in the U.S. military in 1861.