Memorial to the 2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops (Fort Myers, FL)
Dublin Core
Title
Memorial to the 2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops (Fort Myers, FL)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Men--United States Colored Troops
Associations--Military
American South
Public art
Public sculpture
Men--United States Colored Troops
Associations--Military
American South
Public art
Public sculpture
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Commemorative sculpture
Description
The over life-sized work depicts a sergeant in the United States Colored Troops 2nd Regiment standing infront of an open gate within a wall. The soldier is framed by two granite plaques mounted on each wall. The plaque on the left is a description of the imporatnt contribution of the 2nd Regiment during the Civil War. The plaque on the right contains a poem, written by Wilkins.
Creator
Wilkins, D.J.
Source
Photographs by Renée Ater
Date
Dedicated: November 11, 1998
Contributor
Fort Myers Beautification Advisory Board, City of Fort Myers, FL
Rights
The City of Fort Myers
Relation
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
Centennial Park, 2000 W First St, Fort Myers, FL 33901, United States
Alternative Title
Clayton
Has Part
Inscription on left plaque:
"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 Troops freed and enlisted over 1,000 of the enslaved in Florida during the Civil War."
Inscription on right plaque:
"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 fight today all knew this was the start of some new age yet undefined of which 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"
"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 Troops freed and enlisted over 1,000 of the enslaved in Florida during the Civil War."
Inscription on right plaque:
"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 fight today all knew this was the start of some new age yet undefined of which 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"
Medium
Bronze, Granite, & Concrete
Bibliographic Citation
"2nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops." D.J Wilkins, Sculptor. Accessed Janaurary 21, 2019: http://www.djwilkins.com/pages/2nd_USCT.htm
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Sculpture
Collection
Citation
Wilkins, D.J., “Memorial to the 2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops (Fort Myers, FL),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed April 20, 2024, https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1100.