Dear Ms. Lunelle,
On Friday, October 14, 2022, alongside my brother Terry Lee and the Chief Trial Counsel, the Honorable Kirk D. Lyons of the Southern Legal Resource, I would don the uniform of the Southern Soldier and post the Southern Cross where a Cenotaph of the Honorable General Robert E. Lee, and one of the Honorable Governor Zebulon Baird Vance once stood to observe the 20 year anniversary of the Historic March Across Dixie.
On this morning several crowds of people would come alongside Tour Guides of the City. Many would ask about the carnage and disarray of the site that use to be the Crown Jewel of downtown Asheville deemed Pack Square. One man would comment that the area looked nothing like the brochures.
The spot where the Cenotaph to General Robert E. Lee was covered with something that looked like a cheap sheet. And the spot where the Vance Cenotaph stood was boarded up, and what is left of the base painted with graffiti.
The only bright side of this morning would be the large gathering of tourist and citizens of the City who wished us well on the anniversary of the Historic March to Texas.
Of the many folks we spoke to, not one was supportive of what was happening in the Country with the tearing down of monuments and the changing of street, school, and historic name places. One lady would remark as a car would pass and several occupants shout out my name and wish me God's blessings:
"Wow, it seems that everybody who passes by here knows you. And it looks like your presence is so uplifting to their spirits; no matter if they are in business suits, fine dresses or filthy rags.”
I would remark that sometime I would get the middle finger, a hateful remark, or a stink eye, but the scale of justice always seem to rise in my favor when I have the Southern Cross in hand.
After a time, I would hug about 15 people and bid them adieu as Terry Lee and I made our way to the Old Hendersonville County Courthouse where the first 20 miles of the March Across Dixie would end.
One young lady exclaimed that she remembered the event very well because her mom and dad had picked her up from Middle School so she could see a black man marching to Texas don in a Confederate soldier’s uniform and carrying the Confederate Battle flag. She said that she too was as proud as they were, and so sorry they would miss me on this historic occasion.
And not to forget Hendersonville is the home of George Mills, a Black Confederate soldier who brought the body of Confederate Captain Walter M. Bryson who was killed in the battle of Sharpsburg on September 17,1862 back home.
As President of the Asheville Branch of the NAACP, I was invited and attended a Ceremony given by the Sons of Confederate Veterans honoring Mr. Mills, and would present his family the Southern Cross on this very location.
Should we raise enough funds it is my intent to continue on to the Capitol building in Austin, Texas where this journey ended 20 years ago. God bless you!
Your brother,
HK
Chairman Board of Advisors Emeritus Southern Legal Resource Center
Member Save Southern Heritage Florida
Honorary Life Member Zebulon Baird Vance Camp 15 Sons of Confederate Veterans
Member 20 Mile Club Historic March Across Dixie
Honorary Associate Member Abner Baker Chapter 14 United Daughters of the Confederacy
Honorary Life Member Texas and Kentucky Division Sons of Confederate Veterans
Honorary Life Member North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia Orders of the Confederate Rose
President Southern Heritage 411
