Joel Buchanan Archive of African American History: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/ohfb Samuel Proctor Oral History Program College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Program Director: Dr. Paul Ortiz 241 Pugh Hall PO Box 115215 Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 392-7168 https://oral.history.ufl.edu URR 020 Jarvis Rosier Underground Railroad Collection (URR) Interviewed by Marna Weston on June 22, 2012 14 minutes | 10 pages For information on terms of use of this interview, please see the SPOHP Creative Commons license at http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AfricanAmericanOralHistory. URR 020 Interviewee: Jarvis Rosier Interviewer: Marna Weston Date: June 22, 2012 W: This is Marna Weston at the Underground Railroad Conference speaking to Sergeant Major Jarvis Rosier, United States Army retired who is a reenactor and we’re going to talk to him about what he does. Thank you for allowing this brief interview. R: Thank you. W: Could you please state and spell your full name? R: Jarvis Rosier, Sergeant Major Retired United States Army. That’s J-A-R-V-I-S R- O-S-I-E-R. W: And, what are you doing here? R: Well, we’re here trying to get the story told about the United States Colored Troops. A lot of people are not aware that African Americans fought during the Civil War and had a great impact on the Civil War and the Union victory. What’s going on right here this weekend at the Underground Railroad and there talking somewhat about pre-Civil War with the Seminole Indians and things of that nature there so we’re pretty much after that which came about when a lot of people are just unaware so we are endeavoring to get the story told about the United States Colored Troops. A lot of people are familiar with the Buffalo Soldiers, but they don’t know that the United States colored troops were the forerunners of the Buffalo Soldiers during the Civil War and the Buffalo Soldiers came about in 1866 after the Civil War. So, my main goal down here is to introduce to a lot of people, some are aware, so mostly historians are aware that during the Civil War that African Americans fought and some of them are even URR 020; Rosier; Page 2 aware of the extent that their fight, over two hundred thousand fought during the Civil War, sixty-eight thousand lost their lives from battle field and disease. The victory couldn’t have been won by the Union without the African Americans, Over one-tenth of the Union force was made up of African Americans, freeman and black freed slaves. So it is really important to get that story out and we’re endeavoring to get it done and introduce it and get it in the minds and hearts of historians like those that are here now and those that are unaware of it so that they can take it back and get the story told. W: What is Florida’s role in this story? R: Florida is kind of like the forgotten state of the Confederacy even though it was the third state to secede from the Union. It wasn’t that important because of its industrial supplies and surpluses, things that are made there. But later on in war, they became important because of salt. Salt was a great product of Florida. Florida had over thirteen thousand miles of coastline where they produce salt and salt was a preservative of rations in the field for the soldiers, you know the pork and the beef and things of that nature. Speaking to the pork and beef, Florida’s cattle area was a big supplier of beef and pork to these southern forces also so they were very important in a lot of ways as the Civil War went on. Their contribution as far as numbers weren’t as great as other states, like Kentucky had over twenty-four thousand, Tennessee had over twenty thousand and Florida supplied about fifteen thousand to the Confederacy and about thirteen hundred to the Union made up of two regiments that were here. But Florida significant in the Civil War near the end. The battle of Natural Bridge is which one URR 020; Rosier; Page 3 of the battles took place in which we kind of got our conception cause we’re from Tallahassee where that battle was fought, was a Confederate victory and basically put Tallahassee in the motor to be the only city east of the Mississippi that wasn’t captured by the Union. This is about two weeks before the end of the Civil War. But ultimately, the African Americans’ fight, the African American involvement with the battle, which had more to fight for than anyone. Not only were we fighting for the Union, but we were fighting for the end of tyranny and slavery of our people. So, Florida was very important not many in numbers but in significance in geographic and supplies of that nature. W: Why is reenactment as dressing as you are important to preserving and telling the story? R: It’s very important. We are the Reliving History Association. We say that because our motto is to do out history is to believe it but to see and live in history form, as we are wearing uniform and ladies wear their antebellum dresses and the kids will be wearing their uniforms, lets people know that they can see the history and live it for them and that way they get a more, not only In their minds but in their hearts, and they can actually see, oh we looked like that back then, oh we were dressed like that back then, we were in the fight back then. Not only the Emancipation Proclamation, we drove that to happen, we were part of it happening also. W: Can you describe what you are wearing, the details of your formal dress? R: Okay, I am wearing, this is what you call a flap coat and it can be somewhat like a dress green, a dress blue now a days, you know these are Sergeant Major URR 020; Rosier; Page 4 stripes back in the day. These are Sergeant Major stripes that I would probably wear. Some of the Sergeant majors that were back then wore wool, one hundred percent wool, those brothers were sweating out there in the battle field. I don’t know how they did it, but the pants were one hundred percent wool also. This is a Senior NCO ribbon badge, and Senior NCO uniform belt and buckle. But this is the actual uniform that the soldiers wore. This is the Union buckle that they wore right here with the eagle on it. So the actual uniform that they wore back then so we give an authentic presentation of what it was actually like back then. W: What is the significance of the rank of NCO or Non Commission Officer with respect to black troops in the United States Army? R: Back then, the significance were the United State Colored troops were commanded by white officers. Near the end, there were few that were commissioned but back then they were commanded by white officers. The significance of the NCO, Senior NCO is a lot more of a non commissioned officer can be commissioned on the battle field. When they show their leadership, when they show their battle platoon, they show more leadership qualities than anything, they can be commissioned on the battle field. They don’t have to go through a whole lot to be their hand made, you know, particularly in the fight. You know, being a non commission officer all myself, I retired thirty-four years as a sergeant major, we like to say we are the workings soldiers of the army and the officers follow us, but in the NCO it follows a little differently. It’s very significant because leadership, when people see those stripes and you wear them honorably, they respect them honorably also. URR 020; Rosier; Page 5 W; Would it be true to say also that that was the highest rank that the African American was allowed to achieve under certain circumstances? R: Well sergeant major is the highest rank you can receive in the military for a non commission officer in the enlisted ranks. As far as of course officers go that’s the generals. But non commission officers is sergeant major grant, sergeant major. But this is a feat, a rank, that is the highest you can go so it’s a feat that if you reached it, it really means something, you had something to say about what you have done, not only for yourself but for people that you’ve helped because once you reach this area here as sergeant major, there is no higher rank. I look at it like that. So now on, once you reach that rank, you are basically working for your men, your soldiers. You’re doing all that you can for them because you can’t do it anymore for yourself. W: You are obviously extremely committed to be here on a weekend over the course of several days and during the week to cover a national conference like this to share this legacy and share this history. What are your hopes in terms of how other people will receive it that justifies this incredible investment of time that you have taken? R: Well I’m hoping that they see it like I saw it. I’ve always had a zeal for history, military history, but as when I retired and when I got involved with this, the John G.