United States Highway 12 a Memorial to Union Soldiers in the Iron Brigade-- Part 1

Continued from yesterday.

United States Highway 12 runs from Michigan west to the state of Washington.  Through the states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin it is also called the Iron Brigade Highway.  There is a sign for it at US-20 and Indiana 49 in Chesterton that marks it.  I also like our one near me at US-12 and State Park Road in Illinois.

Al Loomis of Valparaiso, Indiana, a member of the David D. porter Camp of Sons of Union veterans of the Civil War was very involved in having US-12 become known as the Iron Brigade Highway.  (David D. Porter, by the way was the Union admiral who captured Fort Fisher, North Carolina, almost 150 years ago on January 15, 1865.)

At the time of its naming, there was some disagreement as to whether the name should be given to US-20 in Indiana when the sign was erected in 1995 in paragraph one.  Back then, US-12 was to become part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Drive and US-12 would be rerouted to run along US-20.

--RoadDog