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 2nd Regiment Infantry - Fort Myers, FL Posted by:  rogueblack
N 26° 38.726 W 081° 52.348
17R E 413166 N 2947461
A memorial for the 2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops and Companies D and I which served at the Battle of Fort Myers.
Waymark Code: WM4THY
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/28/2008
Views: 43
In Centennial Park, a soldier stands casually at ease with his weapon and a slight smile at the top of a three-step platform. Behind him is a two-section wall with tablets embedded in both sides. The gap between the walls signifies a gate, and the soldier's position before the gate represents the gateway to freedom from slavery.
The first tablet reads:
This Memorial is dedicated to the
2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops
and Companies D and I which served at the Battle of Fort Myers
On July 20, 1861
U.S. Army Officer Major French wrote to U.S. Naval Officer McKean, I have information that a schooner fitted out as a slaver is in the Caloosahatchee River. Her appointments, I am told, are full..."
On February 20, 1865
Confederates of the 1st Battalion, Florida Special Cavalry attacked Fort Myers. The attack erupted into a cannon duel with the 2nd USCT in charge of artillery. The New York Times reported: The colored soldiers at Fort Myers were in the thick of the fight. Unconscious of danger their constant cry was to get at them..." At nightfall, the Confederate force withdrew. A Confederate participant later recalled, "It was seen that nothing was accomplished."
The Battle of Fort Myers marked the final action of the 2nd USCT in South Florida Companies D and I left Fort Myers in March of 1865. Fort Myers was then decommissioned.
USCT Troopers freed and enlisted over 1,000 of the enslaved in Florida during the Civil War.
The second tablet is a poem that reads:
In Freedom Cover Me
The war between the states it's called
to make us all one people
one man's bullet is another man's death
in this God makes us equal.
The men who died in the light today
all knew this was the start
of some new age yet undefined
of when we're all a part
This Union Flag I stand beneath
is what's protecting me
from a life of moral death
a life in slavery
When muskets fire if I should fall
in freedom cover me
with these stars from this flag
like leaves from God's great tree
Clayton
Centennial Park has metered parking, which is located along the southern edge of the park and accessible by Edwards Drive.
Name of Government Entity or Private Organization that built the monument: City of Fort Myers
Union, Confederate or Other Monument: Union
Rating (1-5): 
Related Website: [Web Link]
Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes
Date Installed or Dedicated: Not listed
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