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Take advantage of this unique glimpse into our history
By Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley
This week Natchez and Woodville will host the re-enactors for the Mississippi 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry whose presentations, I'm sure, will educate audiences and leave a lasting impression on residents and visitors.
These re-enactors will present a living history program that is designed for people of all ages. Their mission is to meet with the public to answer questions and discuss the history of Black Mississippians in the Union army.
I can assure you these capable men will leave no stone unturned as they discuss the contribution of the Colored Cavalry in the Civil War. Everyone in the community is invited to attend these events, which are free to the public.
Our program in Natchez will be held on Thursday, June 13, on the Natchez Bluff, where the re-enactors will set up a Civil War encampment. The day will begin with the bugle call for reveille at 9 a.m., at which time the flag will be raised. The troops will be inspected and then they will fall out for breakfast.
The re-enactors will portray a number of historic figures from the 1800s while explaining the day-to-day activities of the soldiers during that era. The program will end with the sound of retreat at 4 p.m., which signals the end of the day.
On Friday, June 14, the Colored Cavalry will travel to Woodville for the first time. They will give a public presentation at 1 p.m. at the Woodville Public Library at 489 Main St.
I’m happy to say we were personally invited to Woodville by Mayor Drew Pierson and his wife, Frankie Pierson, along with the Wilkinson County Library System.
This invitation is an honor that means a lot to us. It was also a great surprise to all of us. Let me explain.
As Coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society, I started our Annual Black and Blue Civil War Living History Programs in 2008. The purpose was to bring alive in a living history format the “how and what” the Mississippi River Valley enslaved ancestors and foreparents did during the American Civil War to gain their own freedom from chattel enslavement.
In our 2014 Black and Blue Civil War program, which was held annually at Historic Jefferson College, we presented in Living history the Union army’s Mississippi 3rd U. S. Colored Cavalry freedom fighting stories. We brought in the 3rd U. S. Colored Cavalry re-enactors from Florida to help show and tell the Mississippi “Black Horse Soldiers” story.
I organized educational presentations and performances that took the 3rd Colored Cavalry re-enactors to places where the official Civil War records showed the original cavalry had been. They were in Tallulah, La.; the home base in Vicksburg; and in Jackson. They were also in Port Gibson, Fayette and Natchez.
But we didn’t go on to Woodville, which was the expeditions’ destination in October of 1864 and May 1865 of the original Union army Black Horse Soldiers and accompanying Union regiments.
We brought the re-enactors back for our 2018 Black and Blue Program, but we still didn’t go on to Woodville.
To be honest, I didn’t organize the re-enactors to go on to Woodville to complete the story like the actual history says because of my own fearful thinking and imagination of racial antagonism if we showed and told the Black history Civil War truth there.
Hallelujah! In 2024, thanks to Woodville community leadership that I did not imagine, they have excitingly lobbied for the re-enactors to come to Woodville on their way back home to Florida!
This is the opportunity to walk and talk on actual sacred Civil War Battle of Woodville grounds, teaching and completing the southern end of Third U. S. Colored Cavalry’s two expeditions to Woodville via stop overs at Natchez from Vicksburg and Memphis.
Now, as I share this, I am proud to say that I have played a role in helping to create and promote these important living history programs. I have written scripts for the actors and where possible, I have personally participated as an actor in the programs.
In addition to Natchez, I initiated these Civil War programs at three other sites that include Vicksburg National Military Park from June 7-8; the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson on June 11; and Claiborne County Fair Grounds in Port Gibson on June 12. The program in Woodville was organized by Mayor Drew Pierson and his wife.
These programs are designed for the whole family. We invite everyone to come and experience this living history.
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SER SESHSH AB HETER-C.M. BOXLEY is coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society
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