Celeste Bedford-Walker’s play received raved reviews when it premiered at the Victoria Five Theatre in New York City in 1994. The men of the 24th Infantry (an all Black regiment) had fought bravely on behalf of the United States and received a distinguished record. They served in the Mexican-American dispute against Pancho Villa in Cuba under Teddy Roosevelt and in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.

Many of the men were 20-year veterans, yet less than four months after returning from service, thirteen soldiers from the 24th were hanged without appeal or review under sentence by the largest court-martial ever convened in the United States. This play is well timed for a return to the stage with the country still in the midst of the Iraq war.