Five years ago, H.K. Edgerton marched 1,000 miles from Asheville, N.C. to Austin, Texas – going for 20 hours a day, 6 days a week – dressed as a confederate soldier and carrying a confederate flag.

This is remarkable in and of itself, but is even more so because Edgerton, 59, is a black man.

On Thursday, Edgerton marched down highway 11/80 from Russell to Meridian to celebrate the anniversary of his Asheville-Austin march. He passed through Meridian on his march five years ago. Edgerton, who heads up an organization called Southern Heritage 411, says he carries the flag to “honor the black heroes who fought beside their masters.”

Edgerton’s Web site, www.southernheritage411.com, claims to be founded “from the perspective of the hundreds of thousands of black people who love and support the South, its people, its customs, and its history”.

Edgerton’s view is that: “We shouldn’t blame slavery on Christian White folks when the whole world participated in it.”

Members of the Sons and Daughters of Confederate Veteran’s, all white, met Edgerton along the side of the road Thursday, some driving from as far as Louisville, to have their picture taken with him and hear his impassioned speeches on the mistreatment of the South at the hands of the North.

“(During post-civil war reconstruction) the North did everything to divide and seperate the Christian white folks from the blacks,” he said, adding that he believes much of the rift between races to be due to the North, “not letting the white folks vote” in the post civil war era.

Edgerton stands tall and speaks loudly. As he walked down the highway Thursday, or as he put it, “strutted like a peacock”, flag waving feebly behind him in the soft breeze, one could easily imagine the many slaves who did fight alongside their masters, whether or not they wanted to, in the American Civil War. Whether or not one agrees with Edgerton’s message, it can’t be denied that he creates a memorable image.