MONDAY, JULY 26, 2021
Well, now actually yesterday's Firebird Cruise.
US-12 starts in downtown Detroit, Michigan, and goes through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin and on out to Washington state. This section of 12 is also called the Iron Brigade Highway after the famed fighting group from the Civil War: 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana and 24th Michigan. They fought in most all of the major battles of the Army of the Potomac in the Civil War's Eastern Theater.
They also suffered huge casualties, especially at the Battle of Gettysburg on the first day. I have written a lot about their commander for much of the brigade's existence, Edward S. Bragg, from Wisconsin in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog. As a matter of fact, a Wisconsin state senator has proposed that Fort Bragg in North Carolina be simply renamed Fort Bragg after the Union Bragg instead of the Confederate Braxton Bragg.
Of course, I am really interested in the Civil War. Two other US Highways in our area also have Civil War connections. US-6 is the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, named after the post Civil War Union veterans organization. Then, US-20 is the U.S. Grant Highway as he was living in Galena, Illinois, at the outbreak of the war. US-20 goes right by it.
And, US-12 is one really busy road. As a matter of fact, I call it the U.S. 12 Speedway as if you do the speed limit, you get run over, especially when it becomes a four lane road in Fox Lake, to the south of Spring Grove.
--RoadBrigade
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