Civil War heroes remembered

CREATED Feb. 10, 2013

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 FORT MYERS, Fla. - "Its very important we get that out, and let everyone know, because  people get a jaw dropping experience, like wow"

Sargeant Major Jarbis Rosier is a civil war reenactor, and he's on a mission to help educate the public.

"Alot of people are unaware that during the civil ware African Americans fought for the union, and over 200,000 by the end of the civil war"

So he setup camp here, in Clemente Park where the first ever Fort Myers commemoration is being held for African American troops that served here during the civil war.

"We endeavor to put a real face on the battlefield with these reenactments, because many times in Florida when you get down below the mason dixon line, you don't see many African American reenacments"

"Now the bullets in these muskets are fake, but the history behind them, and the guns themselves... are very real"

"This was an infantry unit, and infrantry units, they' were on the go all the time so the brief moments they had they would setup a camp somewhere like we have with a campfire, and the coffee pots, and the skillets. This is a pop tent they would use"

So as he travels from battlefield to battlefield, he hopes everyone he meets can take just a small bit of his passion with them.

"I believe it was abolitionist Frederick Douglas that said its impossible to make an educated decision about our future without understanding our history. So history is very important to know where we come from, where we are, and where we're going"