"I felt like someone had punched me in the gut," said Amy Stromberg, a fan visiting from out of town. "It's very disturbing what that flag represents and I thought in South Carolina we were past that now." The flag could be seen from miles away. snip "It's a piece of our heritage. 25,000 South Carolinians died in defense of that flag, and 250,000 southerners," said James Bessenger, chairman of the South Carolina Secessionist Party. "The legislature told us they were going to do it. If you say you're going to do something, I expect you to do it."