[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 94 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3560-H3561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COLONEL HANS CHRISTIAN HEG POST OFFICE

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7199) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at S74w16860 Janesville Road, in Muskego, Wisconsin, as 
the ``Colonel Hans Christian Heg Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7199

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. COLONEL HANS CHRISTIAN HEG POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located S74w16860 Janesville Road in Muskego, 
     Wisconsin, shall be known and designated as the ``Colonel 
     Hans Christian Heg Post Office''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Colonel Hans Christian Heg Post 
     Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7199.
  This bill, which is supported by the entire Wisconsin House 
delegation, designates the U.S. post office located on Janesville Road 
in Muskego, Wisconsin, as the Colonel Hans Christian Heg Post Office.
  Colonel Heg is nothing short of remarkable.
  In 1840, Colonel Heg immigrated to Wisconsin from Norway. At just 10 
years old, he quickly learned English and became a trail guide for 
settlers traveling throughout the region.
  Fast forward to 1859, Colonel Heg became the first Norwegian American 
anywhere to be elected to a State office when he was elected prison 
commissioner and warden of the State prison in Waupun, Wisconsin.
  Just a couple of years later, he was appointed colonel of the 15th 
Wisconsin Infantry. He traveled throughout the Midwest recruiting 
Scandinavians to serve in the Civil War. Colonel Heg and his men went 
on to win a major battle for control of the Mississippi River at Island 
No. 10 during the war, and they were given the honor of raising the 
flag by battle commander Flag Officer Andrew Foote. On September 20, 
1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia, the 33-year-old colonel 
was shot and killed in action while serving the Union.
  After the war, veterans raised funds to erect a cannonball pyramid at 
Chickamauga National Military Park dedicated to Colonel Hans Christian 
Heg.
  Sixty years after the war, the Wisconsin community rallied together 
to raise funds to erect a statue in honor of Hans Christian Heg in 
Madison, and 157 years after the war, the community and his descendants 
gathered to rededicate the statue.
  Colonel Heg was an institution in his community, State, and country, 
and he was a treasure to his family, friends, and those who served with 
him.
  It is an incredible privilege to honor Colonel Heg and to show his 
many descendants that he lives on as a legend, both in Wisconsin and 
nationally, to this day.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Comer for his support on this bill.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of H.R. 7199, which 
recognizes Hans Christian Heg, a Norwegian immigrant to Muskego, 
Wisconsin, who fought for the Union as colonel of the 15th Wisconsin 
Infantry in the Civil War against the Confederate secessionists.
  Colonel Heg was a staunch abolitionist and pro-Union crusader who led 
a brave effort to protect enslaved African Americans from being tracked 
down by militia groups and forced back to their enslavers.
  Colonel Heg was the highest ranking officer from the State of 
Wisconsin killed in action during the Civil War.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of our colleagues to join us in honoring 
the life of this great American hero by naming a post office in 
Muskego, Wisconsin, after Colonel Heg, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Steil).
  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7199 to designate 
the post office on Janesville Road in Muskego, Wisconsin, as the 
Colonel Hans Christian Heg Post Office.
  Colonel Heg had deep roots in both the Fifth District and the First 
District of Wisconsin. The Muskego settlement straddles the line 
between Waukesha County and Racine County.
  As we know, Colonel Hans Christian Heg would ultimately lose his life 
in the Battle of Chickamauga.
  Colonel Hans Christian Heg was an immigrant who moved to the United 
States and signed up to serve the Union in the Civil War. He was a 
devout abolitionist and was opposed to slavery. Ultimately, he gave his 
life in defense of our Nation.
  Two statues were built to honor Colonel Hans Christian Heg. One was 
located in the town of Norway in Racine County and the other in front 
of the Wisconsin State Capitol.
  In the summer of 2020, a group of rioters would tear down that statue 
outside the Wisconsin State Capitol. They would take the head off the 
statue, and

[[Page H3561]]

they would carry it into the lake. The ignorance of those rioters 
should not be lost on us today. They tore down the statue of an 
abolitionist who gave his life preserving the Union and fighting 
against slavery.
  Naming the post office in Muskego, Wisconsin, after Colonel Hans 
Christian Heg is a statement against the vandalism we saw in the summer 
of 2020, but it is also a way to recognize and remember the heroic 
bravery of Colonel Hans Christian Heg.
  This bill will serve his legacy, and it will serve to remind all of 
us in Wisconsin of the sacrifice that he made on behalf of our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 7199.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to make a little statement as well 
here to kind of follow up on what Mr. Steil said.
  For those of us who are familiar with the Wisconsin State Capitol, 
the statue of Christian Heg is an institution in the State of 
Wisconsin.
  It was horrific, and it shows the ignorance of the hard left in this 
country when, about 4 years ago, there was a riot, and they tore down 
the statue of Christian Heg. Hopefully, this will serve to bring even 
more fame to his great deeds and fame to the great Americans who fought 
during the Civil War.
  In any event, I am very pleased that Congressman Fitzgerald has 
decided to bring forth this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support this bill 
honoring a true American war hero, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7199.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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