CONTACT: Jay Purdy (717) 787-7895

HARRISBURG, August 21--Readshaw's Raiders will mount an invasion of Gettysburg Sept. 22 in the group's continuing campaign to preserve the 146 Pennsylvania regimental monuments on the Adams County battlefield. But this time, instead of the thunder of hooves and the tramping of thousands of feet, the advancing rumble of motorcycle engines will signal the invasion.

State Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, today welcomed the commitment of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education to host a ride to Gettysburg to raise funds for his Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monuments Project and the historic Daniel Lady Farm preserved by the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association. The ride will begin a 1 p.m. Sept. 22 from Commonwealth Avenue behind the Capitol in Harrisburg and will conclude with a ceremony at the Lady Farm on Hanover Road in Gettysburg. Registration will begin at 11 a.m. Participants are asked to donate $10 and are encouraged to obtain pledges from people who wish to support their effort. Each participant will receive a "Readshaw's Raiders" T-shirt.

"What better project could we become involved in that represents the struggle for people to be free?" wrote Charles C. Umbenhour, director of Government Relations for ABATE, in a letter to Readshaw. "Gettysburg is a place that all Pennsylvanians can be proud of and we have a responsibility to future generations to preserve its heritage."

Readshaw said ABATE of Pennsylvania has a long history of raising funds for historic preservation and other worthy causes dating back to a 1985 donation to help preserve the flags of the Commonwealth regiments that fought in the Civil War.

"The American motorcyclist is often seen as a symbol of independence and the freedom to travel," said Readshaw. "There's virtually no place in this great nation they can't go. I'm tremendously proud to have them riding to help us preserve the monuments to thousands of Pennsylvanians who put everything on the line for the freedom of all Americans in the Civil War, and especially the three pivotal days in Gettysburg in July of 1863."

The funds ABATE raises for the monuments will go into trust funds to ensure that money is on hand for any future restoration work the monuments may require.

Registration forms are available at numerous motorcycle dealerships across the state.