Chamberlain-Hunt Academy’s Crusaders, led by Sgt. Maj. Chad Winsor, walk along the Natchez Trace Parkway towards Raymond Friday from just north of Port Gibson. The group of at least 11 cadets was to arrive in Raymond on Sunday.(Sam Knowlton The Vicksburg Post)

[5/12/03] ALONG THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY This morning a Chamberlain-Hunt Academy organization starts the second day of its first hike up the Natchez Trace from near the Mississippi River to Raymond.

At least 11 members of the Port Gibson prep school’s Order of Crusaders, which is in its second year, are following the route of General U.S. Grant’s troops during the Civil War. They left from the Shaifer House, south of Port Gibson, Friday morning and expect to reach Raymond Sunday afternoon, said their faculty adviser, Sgt. Maj. Chad Winsor.

“Most do have leadership roles” in campus organizations and activities, Winsor said of the group, whose membership is up this year to 14 from the two it had in its initial year, last year.

Three weekends of activities are required to become a Crusader, Winsor said. The first involves a series of hikes, runs and physical exercise, “pushing the level of endurance,” he said. The second includes graded activities in military skills, and more exercise. And the third ends with a ceremony at Port Gibson Presbyterian Church, emphasizing the spiritual aspect of leadership.

“We need to be an example and show our leadership through that,” Winsor said. He added that the current group has been selected from the 72 cadets who made the attempt to become Crusaders this year.

This weekend’s hike, which covers 51 miles, was conceived earlier this year by Winsor and Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper Derrek Elam of Port Gibson, both former U.S. Marines. Both leaders are hiking with the group, which stopped for lunch on Friday about two miles north of Port Gibson after a 6:55 a.m. start.

Members said they are taking 10-minute breaks each hour. They are carrying packs of what Elam said are between 40 and 45 pounds each, with enough clothes for three days and enough food for one, Elam said. A truck driven by school staff resupplied them with water at their first lunch stop.

One purpose of the hike is to raise awareness of the trip to Brazil planned this summer by Winsor and four Crusaders. The travelers will meet with missionaries, perform service projects and see part of the country that is home to two of the school’s cadets, Winsor said.

The school, located in Port Gibson since 1879, has an enrollment of about 160, including about 120 boarding students, Winsor said.

Hiking with the group early Friday afternoon were seniors Andrew Banck of New Orleans, Matt Brown of Brighton, Mich., and Steven Slater of Jackson; junior Greg McGehee of Hattiesburg; sophomores Matthew Duren of Vicksburg; Tal Fogg of Shalimar, Fla., Diego Moura of Natal, Brazil, and Micah Navarro of Port Gibson; freshman Kyle Myers of Port Gibson; and eighth-graders John Robert Burnett of Port Gibson and Josh Roberts of Brandon. Junior Rhett Burns of Greenville was expected to join the group later in the hike.