John P. Bruck
"The news flashed over the country like wild fire," wrote Stephen D. Cone in recalling Hamilton reaction to the attack on Fort Sumter April 12, 1861. "The patriotic heart of the great North was stirred and thrilled to its innermost depth."
Cone said "when the news was received in Hamilton, the bells of the old Neptune Fire Company of the First Ward were rung by John R. Vaughan and Samuel Schofield, calling the citizens of Hamilton together."
John Peter Bruck was one of the hundreds who gathered to show their loyalty. He wasted no time demonstrating it with his actions.
Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor surrendered to Confederate forces April 14. The next day President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, including 10,153 from Ohio.
Since March 2, 1854, Bruck had been first lieutenant of the Jackson Guards of the 19th Division of the Ohio Militia.
He took command and supervised the recruitment of the company to full strength. That had taken place during a rally at Beckett's Hall (at the northeast corner of High and North Second streets in a building that later housed Wilmur's and Elder-Beerman stores).
April 18, the company became the first Butler County unit to respond to Lincoln's appeal for troops. There were about 100 men in the Jackson Guards when the volunteers left Hamilton by train, three days after Lincoln's call.
The Guards arrived at Camp Jackson in Columbus the same day -- without arms, ammunition and uniforms. The local unit became Company K of the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, enrolled for three months of service.
The First Ohio -- led by Colonel Alexander McDowell McCook -- included similar groups from around the state: the Lancaster Guards (Company A); the Lafayette Guards of Dayton (B); the Dayton Lights Guards (C); the Montgomery Guards of Dayton (D); the Cleveland Grays (E); The Hibernian Guards of Cleveland (F); the Portsmouth Guards (G); the Zanesville Guards (H); and the Mansfield Guards (I).
The recruits didn't stay long in Columbus. The morning of April 19, the First Ohio was on a train headed to Washington, D. C., to help protect the nation's capital against a feared Confederate invasion.
The First Ohio participated in the war's first major battle July 21, 1861, at Bull Run (or Manassas), near Washington, D. C. Captain Bruck was born Oct. 13, 1819, in Hesse Darmstadt, Prussia (later Germany). He arrived in the United States March 31, 1835 -- not yet 16 years of age -- and settled in Hamilton.
Bruck worked as a tailor in Hamilton, operating a shop on High Street for several years. He also was a founder of The Schildwache, the first German newspaper in Butler County. He was still involved in publishing the weekly newspaper when the Civil War started.
He had married Mary D. Klein, also a native of Germany, in Hamilton in 1840, and became the parents of nine children.
Bruck's term was shortened by the illness and death of his wife. He resigned his commission to return to Hamilton to care for his young family. He supported them by resuming the tailor trade.
He returned briefly to military service in July 1863 when General John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry threatened Hamilton. Bruck was among several veteran officers who commanded quickly-formed Home Guards during Morgan's Raid.
Cone said "when the news was received in Hamilton, the bells of the old Neptune Fire Company of the First Ward were rung by John R. Vaughan and Samuel Schofield, calling the citizens of Hamilton together."
John Peter Bruck was one of the hundreds who gathered to show their loyalty. He wasted no time demonstrating it with his actions.
Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor surrendered to Confederate forces April 14. The next day President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, including 10,153 from Ohio.
Since March 2, 1854, Bruck had been first lieutenant of the Jackson Guards of the 19th Division of the Ohio Militia.
He took command and supervised the recruitment of the company to full strength. That had taken place during a rally at Beckett's Hall (at the northeast corner of High and North Second streets in a building that later housed Wilmur's and Elder-Beerman stores).
April 18, the company became the first Butler County unit to respond to Lincoln's appeal for troops. There were about 100 men in the Jackson Guards when the volunteers left Hamilton by train, three days after Lincoln's call.
The Guards arrived at Camp Jackson in Columbus the same day -- without arms, ammunition and uniforms. The local unit became Company K of the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, enrolled for three months of service.
The First Ohio -- led by Colonel Alexander McDowell McCook -- included similar groups from around the state: the Lancaster Guards (Company A); the Lafayette Guards of Dayton (B); the Dayton Lights Guards (C); the Montgomery Guards of Dayton (D); the Cleveland Grays (E); The Hibernian Guards of Cleveland (F); the Portsmouth Guards (G); the Zanesville Guards (H); and the Mansfield Guards (I).
The recruits didn't stay long in Columbus. The morning of April 19, the First Ohio was on a train headed to Washington, D. C., to help protect the nation's capital against a feared Confederate invasion.
The First Ohio participated in the war's first major battle July 21, 1861, at Bull Run (or Manassas), near Washington, D. C. Captain Bruck was born Oct. 13, 1819, in Hesse Darmstadt, Prussia (later Germany). He arrived in the United States March 31, 1835 -- not yet 16 years of age -- and settled in Hamilton.
Bruck worked as a tailor in Hamilton, operating a shop on High Street for several years. He also was a founder of The Schildwache, the first German newspaper in Butler County. He was still involved in publishing the weekly newspaper when the Civil War started.
He had married Mary D. Klein, also a native of Germany, in Hamilton in 1840, and became the parents of nine children.
Bruck's term was shortened by the illness and death of his wife. He resigned his commission to return to Hamilton to care for his young family. He supported them by resuming the tailor trade.
He returned briefly to military service in July 1863 when General John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry threatened Hamilton. Bruck was among several veteran officers who commanded quickly-formed Home Guards during Morgan's Raid.