Sarsaparilla Joe

Sarsaparilla Joe is also, Head Fundraiser and Roving Ambassador for Code of the West. Born in Manassas, Virginia, in a rural farming community, Sarsaparilla Joe, was in the U.S. Cavalry assigned to the western frontier keeping the peace between settlers and Indians for several years before the start of the American Civil War. His entire family was slaughtered by Confederate soldiers after the First Battle of Bull Run. His Cavalry Company was later sent East, participated in many campaigns, and he was wounded during the battle of Gettysburg. He developed a blood infection where he was prescribed Sarsaparilla (originally made from the Smilax Ornata plant) as a remedy and had a hankering for it ever since. When it became readily available as a soft drink, it turned him into a gunfighter, 'cause when you order Sarsaparilla in a saloon, you better be quick on the draw, and how he got his name.