PRESS RELEASE:  Contact: Kirk D. Lyons 828-669-5189
15 JANUARY 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

H.K. Edgerton Breaks 1868 Record of Union Sergeant - "20-Miler" Numbers Released

Black Mountain, NC - As of January 12, 2003 H.K. Edgerton has marched 1,409.7 miles in his March Across Dixie, carrying his Confederate flag.  This beats by 9.7 miles the record set in 1868 by Union veteran Sgt. Gilbert H. Bates who marched 1400 miles through the devastated South carrying the Stars & Stripes (see below).  Bates marched from Vicksburg, MS to Washington DC, Edgerton is marching from Asheville, NC to Austin, TX and is expected to arrive in Austin on Saturday, Jan 25.

Edgerton will beat Bates 1868 record by a wide margin as he has 150 more miles to march before reaching Austin.

"I cannot account for the under estimate of the miles HK would walk when we planned the march, but that certainly has happened," said Kirk D. Lyons of the Southern Legal Resource Center. "It will probably be a while before HK's record is broken," Lyons added.

Edgerton is marching across the South to raise awareness of Southern Heritage and to raise money for the Heritage Defense Funds of the Southern Legal Resource Center and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

H.K.'s brother, Terry Lee, who is accompanying H.K. announced the state breakdown of members of the "20-mile club." A 20-mile club certificate is given to anyone who walks a full 20 miles with H.K. in a day.

South Carolina: 12
Georgia: 5
Alabama: 3
Louisiana: 38
Texas: 9 (so far)

"20-milers" are invited to march the last day of the March on January 25 when HK marches to the Texas Supreme Court Building.

The SLRC is a non-profit tax deductible South Carolina Public Law firm that specializes in Southern Heritage issues.

From a website on Sgt. Bates

Aftermath & Reconstruction
March Of Sergeant Bates "Brave Union Veteran" 1868

In 1868, the Radical Republicans had taken over the governments of the former Confederate states and were imposing harsh and punitive stipulations upon their reconstruction into the Union.  Despite all the political bitterness in the nation, a Wisconsin farmer and former sergeant in the Union army, Gilbert H. Bates, believed "the Southern people had resumed their affection for the flag and the Union."  To prove his theory, Bates resolved to march through the South carrying a large American flag.  He decided to make the march alone and without a weapon.  He would not even carry money with him, depending on the kindness, charity, and patriotism of his former enemies food and lodging.

Bates began the trek in Vicksburg, Miss., the former Confederate city that had been mercilessly bombarded and starved by besieging Union forces.  The flag he carried, the Stars and Stripes, was handmade by Vicksburg's women.

Bates marched for three months, proudly holding the flag high everywhere he went.  Much of the brave sergeant's route went through the area that Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces had devastated during the famous march through Georgia and the Carolinas.  Bates reported that everywhere he went, he and the flag found only "blessings and thanks and kindness."  Southern homes provided Bates with food, lodging, and encouragement throughout his 1,400 mile journey.

Bates completed his long march at the former Confederate capitol building in Richmond, VA, in April.  He was greeted by booming cannons and throngs of Virginians, who cheered him as he climbed to the capitol dome and waved his flag over the building that countless thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers had died while trying to capture or defend.  Bates was right in his belief that most Southerners revered the flag and the Union, but it would be more than nine more years before the Radical Republican national government accepted that fact.

Fascinating Fact: In 1872, Bates marched to London, England, from the Scottish border.  He wanted to prove that the rancor the Civil War had bred between the Union and England had healed.  He once again was given a warm and rousing reception.

For more information about HK's March Across Dixie contact: http://www.southerncaucus.org/hkedgerton.htm

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If anyone has received this who does not wish to be on our distribution list, please let us know. Our address is SLRC, P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711. Phone: 828-669-5189 Dr. Payne and Atty. Lyons SCV members, I.N. Giffen,758, Black Mountain, NC