NATCHEZ — Sometimes history is hard to forget and hard to remember at the same time.

The annual Black and Blue Civil War re-enactment at Historic Jefferson College aimed to tell the stories of a history that is sometimes forgotten — the role of black soldiers during the Civil War.

Re-enactor Norman Fisher of Jackson said it is important to educate people — both black and white — on the role black soldiers had in winning freedom for themselves and others that were enslaved.

“Many people don’t know there two armies out of Mississippi,” he said. “One that wore grey and was white, and one that wore blue and was black.”

The re-enactment told the stories of blacks who escaped slavery and joined Union forces and trained and fought alongside Union soldiers to defeat the Confederate Army along the Mississippi River.

Many of those black soldiers that fought trained at Forks of the Road

“History has left out the contributions of African Americans in the Civil War,” Fisher said.

Myra Edwards came to the reenactment from New Orleans because, for her, the event gives her a look at her roots and a time to focus on the future.

“I have always said, if you don’t know where you come from, you can never know where you are headed,” she said. “People need to know their real history.”

Reenactor Vickie Green said slave owners were surprised when their slaves ran away to join the Union forces. She said even those that could not join the armies, were helping the fight for freedom.

“Thousands of other African descent men, women and children served the cause for the black and blue soldiers and sailors as spies, scouts, nurses, cooks, laundresses, servants, teamsters, stevedores, foragers, general laborers, field hands, blacksmiths and builders of forts, breastwork and roads,” she said.

Alma Shepard attended to learn about and recognize the contributions of those who fought for their own freedom.

“Many of the contributions of enslaved people that fought and won freedom for themselves have gone unrecognized,” she said. “If we don’t recognize them now, they will be forgotten. This history shouldn’t be forgotten.”

The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Forks of the Road Society.