VOICE OF THE TOWNSHIP

In a few days, we will be celebrating Independence Day with fireworks, family picnics and all the other ways we find to celebrate this important holiday in our country’s history. This year’s Independence Day celebration has a special meaning because 2011 commemorates 150 years since the beginning of the Civil War, which resulted in independence for many Americans who formerly were slaves.

As Wayne Township Trustee, I am interested in the history of Wayne Township and asked one of my staff to do some research into that history. We found more information than I could possibly write in this column about Wayne Township’s role in the Civil War. After War broke out in 1861, City leaders decided to establish a formal campground for the mustering (assembling) of troops for the War. That campground was called Camp Allen and was located near the Main Street Bridge over the St Mary’s River in Wayne Township.

On July 4 of 1861, exactly 150 years ago, a recruiting event was conducted for Camp Allen which included a 34-gun salute and the reading of the Declaration Independence by Fort Wayne Mayor Franklin P. Randall. A patriotic speech was given by then Fort Wayne banker Hugh McCulloch, who later served as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury. The evening concluded with a picnic dinner and fireworks. Records at our office show Hugh McCulloch served as Wayne Township Trustee in the 1850s, but we have not been able to confirm this. Mr. McCulloch resided on Water Street, now Superior Street, in Wayne Township and his house remains at 616 West Superior just a few blocks from our office.

We have been able to confirm the names of two other Wayne Township Trustees who served during the Civil War Era. Those are Clemens A. Rekers, Trustee from 1860 to 1862 and Isaac Campbell who served from 1863 to 1866. Trustee Rekers appears to have been a career politician because the City Directories from the time show him to have been County Clerk prior to being elected Trustee and both Deputy Recorder and County Recorder after serving as Trustee.

Trustee Campbell apparently was an interesting person. In her writings during the Civil War, Susan McCulloch, Hugh’s wife, describes Isaac Campbell as a “Copperhead,” a derogatory term used to describe Democrats who opposed the war. She as much as accuses Mr. Campbell of fixing the election when he was elected Trustee, saying that he and another man took “the ballot boxes home with them when they went to supper.” After he finished his term as Trustee, Mr. Campbell purchased the Fort Wayne Sentinel, which later became the News-Sentinel and served as a Deputy Allen County Sheriff.

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Civil War heroes from Wayne Township included Col. Sion Bass and Eliza George. Col. Bass was the leader of the 30th Indiana Infantry Regiment and was killed at the Battle of Shiloh. Col. Bass’s home is still standing in the 500 block of West Washington Blvd. An interesting side note is that Col. Bass was the brother of John Bass, owner of the Bass Mansion now on the campus of the University of St. Francis.

Eliza George, whose daughter was married to Col. Bass, enlisted as a union nurse in 1863, when she was 54 years old. Records show that before enlisting, she lived near the corner of Berry and Barr Streets. She contacted typhoid while caring for soldiers and died in 1865. Both Col. Bass and Eliza George are buried in Lindenwood Cemetery, where monuments were erected to honor them.
Many Wayne Township residents are not aware that we have a Memorial to those who served in the Civil War in our Township. It is in Lawton Park, not far from our Office.

As I celebrate Independence Day this year, I will be taking time out to think about the almost 500 soldiers from our area who lost their lives to help preserve our freedom during the one of the most difficult times in our history.

Richard A. Stevenson, Sr.
Wayne Township Trustee
www.waynetownship.org