March to Destiny, Sailor's Creek to Appomattox Court House

[WpnsMan]

To commemorate the 145th Anniversary of Lee's retreat, the 24th Virginia Infantry is hosting a 47 mile march from Sailor's Creek to Appomattox Court House.

This is a preservation fundraiser for the 24th Virginia Battle Flag conservation project. The flag was captured at the Battle of Sailor's Creek and is currently part of the Museum of the Confederacy's collection in Richmond. One lucky participant will receive a Greg Starbuck Kepi.

The march will take place over a five day period from April 7th to the 11th. In cooperation with the Park Service, participants will check-in at Sailor’s Creek the afternoon of April 6th and can camp overnight. The march begins the morning of the 7th and participants will march roughly 10 miles a day retracing the route taken by Longstreet’s Corps. On Sunday April 11th, participants will march into Appomattox C.H., stack arms and receive parole papers commemorating the event followed by guest speakers at the courthouse theater.

There is a registration fee of $15 per participant to cover the operating cost of the event. These will be payable to the 24th Virginia. Since this is a preservation fundraiser, participants will solicit sponsorship for miles marched. A minimum sponsorship of $50 is required per participant. These funds will be made payable to the Museum of the Confederacy and you will receive a membership to the Museum.

As an added bonus, Greg Starbuck has graciously donated a Confederate enlisted kepi. Custom made for the participant who raises the most money.

Registration is limited to 50 participants and will close on Dec 15th.

For registration forms, information or questions, contact Matt Utt, mutt@vt.edu

[BWT]

I'll be there.

Go to school at Hampden-Sydney College, so it wont be far at all.

Can't Wait!

Mike Turner.

[sam H]

The question is will the MOC give me the time off of work to do this. This is something I have wanted to do since I was ten. I hope I can make it.

[WpnsMan]

Glad you guys are planning to attend. I will be off the net traveling for work and Reserves the rest of this week through Monday so, email Matt Utt for the registration packet and details.

Sam,

You may want to try the "It's work related" excuse for attending. Make sure you talk Kyle into coming also.

[Silas]

In the interests of marital harmony, I get as many as two eastern events per year. Had I not already committed to a pair of events, I'd be doing that march in a heartbeat. I've wanted to do something like that for ten years. I've driven the Longstreet route several times contemplating such a march. Good luck with that.

[WpnsMan]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving,

Now that our Web Master has had some time off from work, here is a link to the Registration Packet for the event. http://www.24thvaflag.info/uploads/March_to_Destiny_Registration.pdf

For those interested in the march that may have some reservations about attending the full five days or marching the entire 47 miles, we can accommodate your schedule. While we highly encourage making the entire march, we realize some participants may have work conflicts that prevent them from attending during the work week.

So, you can join the march on days convenient to your schedule. I.E, if you can only make Friday through Sunday you may still attend. Though, the registration fee ($15) and requirement to meet the minimum pledge amount ($50) will still apply.

[jhmanahan]

Out of curiosity, how many of the 50 open spots have been filled already?

-J.H. Manahan


Mr. Metesh,

Please sign your full and correct name to your posts. Per the forum rules (http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/faq.php?faq=new_faq_item1nu#faq_new_faq_item1998) :

Sign your Full Name to every post - that your username contains your real name is NOT sufficient. We want your full name (first and last) to appear at the bottom of every post.

- Silas Tackitt

[WpnsMan]

OK folks,

We still have plenty of slots to go around. For those of you who are still on the fence about attending and in hopes of achieving maximum participation, we are extending the registration deadline to 15 January, 2010.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to literally follow in the footsteps of history.

[WpnsMan]

The registration deadline of 15 January is closing in fast and will be here before you know it.

Don't wait to long, there is only 1 week to go!

[WpnsMan]

Registration for the “March to Destiny” is officially closed!

Out to the 50 available slots we received 26 registration forms.

While not the numbers we were hoping for, 26 is a fortuitous number if everyone who registered attends. From researching the Regimental history and the data at Appomattox C.H., 26 is the number of veterans from the 24th Virginia Infantry that were paroled after the surrender. 23 of those men escaped from Sailor’s Creek and 3 more were listed as teamsters who were with the regimental trains.

This coincidence of fate could provide endless possibilities for the event.

Thank you to those registered, see you in April!

[Busterbuttonboy]

Bryan
Thanks for posting this. I wish I had knew about it earlier so I had time to prepare my feet for it. It took three months worth of walking everyday to prepare for a 24 mile march I did last year. Others mileage will vary but unless you are use to marching in booties on a daily basis Id highly recommend practice. Joey Bordonaro, Mike Schaffner and or Dave Wilson may have much more to offer as veteran marchers.
My only two notes are that you need to keep inserts or insoles out of your booties as they will cause you arch to drop after you remove your shoes not to mention they will place more pressure on your feet and will restrict the natural swelling that will occur.
Secondly bring cotton socks only for night you will find that once the cotton gets wet your foot slides all over the place. Wool is the best for walking.
Ill kick around my semester schedule and see if I cannot pull this off.
Big question- I read the PDF file, what was the 24th wearing/issued during this time? You said come in uniform- which?
Thanks

[DougCooper]

Bryan - out of curiosity, why close the registration before you have the 50? Park Service requirement? Logisitics planning?

[jhmanahan]

This is gunna be an amazing experience! I can't wait for April! I've been excited about it since November!

Logan Metesh

[WpnsMan]

The deadline for registration was a month ago,

This after being extended for an additional month to get max participation and met with minimal results. Doug, you bring up a good point as all the factors you mentioned did influence that deadline.

As this is not a static event the logistics are not as simple as soliciting vendors to set up at a fixed location for the weekend. I.E, the evening meals, life support, etc are being donated by various outside organizations which need time to plan and coordinate for such.