Glory is about the first black regiment to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is placed in charge of them. From an aristocratic Massachusetts family, he is a mild-mannered and sensitive man who reads Emerson and writes letters to his mother. Thomas (Cory Elwes) is a free black man who grew up with Shaw and has led a rather privileged life. He is well-educated and has been treated like an equal in the Shaw family. Forbes is Shaw's best friend whom he convinced to join up with him in the new regiment. Rollins (Morgan Freeman) is an older black man with good sense who has joined the regiment. Shaw asks him for advice about the men after one of them, Chet, is flogged for desertion. Chet (Denzel Washington) is an angry and rebellious runaway slave, but he didn't desert-he was looking for shoes. His back is covered with scars from beatings as a slave.

             Shaw, the main character faces many problems. Forbes and Thomas do not see him as their military commander because they have known him all their lives. Forbes doesn't see the point of training the men for combat because he believes blacks will never see battle anyway. He accuses Shaw of acting high and mighty. Shaw doesn't understand black culture. His soldiers don't get supplies like shoes and socks for winter, and the government doesn't want to pay them the same as white soldiers. He is basically thoughtful and modest, and people think they can walk all over him. Like Shaw, Rollins isn't sure he wants to be a non-commissioned officer. Thomas struggles to meet the demands of basic training. He is the butt of the Sergeant's criticisms and racist remarks, and Chet, the angry soldier, is mercilessly cruel to him and calls him Snowflake (because he reads and talks like a white man). Chet has been abused and is full of anger and hate (emotionally disturbed) because of it.

             Shaw learns to be more assertive.