Inside the Beltway

Owing Columbia

There is an obligation on the part of the federal government, dating back to the one of the darkest hours of the Civil War, that remains “unpaid and largely forgotten.”

“Over a century ago, on a hot summer day, an event occurred of national significance that by some eyewitness accounts altered history as we know it today,” says Rep. Joe Pitts, Pennsylvania Republican. “The event I am referring to is known as the burning of the Columbia Wrightsville Bridge.”

The date was June 28, 1863 — 72 hours before the Battle of Gettysburg — and “this catastrophic event did not just destroy an ordinary bridge — it destroyed an extraordinary bridge,” the congressman said.

Completed in 1834 at a cost of $129,000, it happened to be the longest covered wooden bridge in the world: 40 feet wide and spanning 5,620 feet across the Susquehanna River, its eastern end emptying into the bustling town of Columbia, Pa.

Historians to this day debate if destroying the bridge, accomplished upon orders from Union Col. Jacob G. Frick, had an impact on the Battle of Gettysburg. But its impact on Columbia is unquestioned.

“How many of you are aware that the first place to be considered as the nation’s capital was Columbia, Pennsylvania?” asks Mr. Pitts, who says the town was an important railway artery for westward expansion and shipping destination for iron furnaces, rolling mills, sawmills, flour mills and machine shops.

But Col. Frick, or so he wrote later, was fully convinced “this bridge was General [Robert E.] Lee’s objective point, and that it was to become the highway of the Confederate army.”

To make a long story short, because the bridge, owned by the Columbia Bank, was destroyed by order of the U.S. military, it made the U.S. government responsible for all loss. In a letter dated June 29, 1863, the bank’s cashier, Samuel Schock, in fact, tried to make Uncle Sam cough up restitution, but to no avail:

“Dear Sir — The bridge at this place, owned by the Columbia Bank, was burned by the United States Military authorities to prevent the Rebels from crossing the Susquehanna River.”

Columbia Bank no longer exists, and the town of Columbia never quite rebounded and grew like neighboring cities of York and Lancaster. Will Columbia ever get its due? Highly unlikely, although it wouldn’t hurt President Bush this election year to finally settle the debt (and no doubt win several thousands votes in the process).

“Let’s see, $129,000 at 6 percent interest — wow, that’s $424 million today,” Derek Karchner, the congressman’s spokesman, tells Inside the Beltway.

Special delivery

What does one senator present as a retirement gift to another senator?

His very own post office.

“Mr. President, I send to the desk legislation designating the U.S. post office located in Durango, Colorado, as the ’Ben Nighthorse Campbell Post Office Building,’ ” said Sen. Wayne Allard, Colorado Republican.

And why not such an honor?

The 71-year-old retiring senator, a Northern Cheyenne Indian and former member of the U.S. Olympic Judo team in 1964 (in college, he became the youngest person in the United States to hold the fourth-degree black belt) has “left his mark on American history,” Mr. Allard observes.

“It is only fitting that we can honor his legacy by naming this post office after him.”

We’ve written extensively about Mr. Campbell throughout his many years of service on Capitol Hill. We’ll never forget the day when U.S. Capitol Police Officers Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson were killed in the line of duty in 1998 and the senator, a policeman before politician, took it especially hard.

“I collect shoulder patches,” the senator said, referring to police insignia of states and townships. “John [Gibson] had a collection and we used to trade shoulder patches. If he had two of a patch I didn’t have, or if I had two of one he didn’t have, we would trade back and forth.”

More than once, Mr. Campbell personally intervened to assist the Capitol cops. Like the time a man leaped at elderly Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in the basement of the U.S. Capitol. The assailant turned violent, and Mr. Campbell, while rushing to subdue the man, grabbed a police radio lying nearby and radioed for help.

When help arrived, the senator already had helped tackle and handcuff the assailant. If we recall correctly, he was actually sitting on the man.

Another time, while out for a leisurely stroll on Capitol Hill, Mr. Campbell was accosted by a man who warned he had a gun. Instead of flinching, the senator demanded to see the weapon. When none was produced, Mr. Campbell displayed a few of his deadly judo moves.

The man was last spotted running for his life.

• John McCaslin, whose column is nationally syndicated, can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.