Re-enactors representing the 2nd Infantry Regiment United States Colored Troops and Union soldiers lined up under the shade of the tall, moss covered oak trees while dressed in replica Civil War uniforms to conduct an honorary gun salute on Florida Emancipation Day.
As the loud bang from the half dozen firearms echoed through the air, dozens of community members stood in silence as “TAPS” was performed and they paid their respects to the lives that were lost.
Just a few moments prior, local grade school students joined re-enactors in elaborate black mourning dresses to place red carnations at the base of each of the graves of the Union soldiers in the Old City Cemetery, while others sang “Amazing Grace.” Small American flags that had already been placed next to each headstone, waved in the soft summer breeze…