Hans Christian Heg immigrated to the United States as a child from Norway in 1840. After two years of chasing the California Gold Rush, he returned home to Wisconsin in 1851 to tend to the family farm and his young siblings who had been orphaned by the death of their parents.

In 1861, Heg accepted the position of colonel in the Scandanavian regiment of the 15th Wisconsin Infantry and the following year he marched off to face the Confederacy in the South. Col. Heg was cited for bravery for his leadership. Remembered for pursuing Confederate soldiers as far south as Alabama and Georgia, he received a fatal wound when he was shot in the abdomen during an engagement in September of 1863.

Col. Christian Heg, born in Norway and raised in Wisconsin, gave his life in the battle to defeat the Confederacy and end the enslavement of Blacks that were held in bondage.

Last night, protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement toppled and destroyed the so-called "Forward" statue outside the Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconson. And then they destroyed a statue honoring Col. Heg. The statue's head was removed and the entire thing was tossed in nearby Lake Monona.

Tell me again that I am part of the problem because I loathe the senseless destruction of our symbols, our culture, and our way of life. Tell me again, because I want to understand what all of this has to do with racial equality and justice.

Pardon me if I am repulsed by this revisionist movement and the not-so-subtle attempt to subvert the greatest system of governance ever to exist in the universe.

I'll wait for your reply.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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