ARCHER ALEXANDER

During the Civil War, an enslaved man named Archer Alexander would overhear the Confederate men in the area plotting to destroy a nearby railroad bridge. He would risk his life to inform the Home Guards of what was about to happen and saved a vital link to the Union Army.  Having to flee for his life, he took sixteen other freedom seekers with him, using the Underground Railroad.  He was given refuge in the home of Rev. William G. Eliot, a Unitarian minister and founder of Washington University. By his own actions he was emancipated on September 24, 1863, for his help to the Union.

In 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, the formerly enslaved people wanted to erect a memorial to the man they considered “the best friend” they ever had. They raised over $16,000 (equal today to about $475,000) for the first memorial to Lincoln to be erected in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., which still stands today. The unidentified man seen with Lincoln, is Archer Alexander, who has become the national icon for emancipation.

When he died in 1880, Archer Alexander was buried at St. Peter’s U.C.C. Cemetery (2101 Lucas and Hunt Road) in St. Louis, Missouri in an unmarked grave among hundreds of others in a Common Lot Section. In 2023, Archer Alexander ‘s burial location was added to the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, after St. Peter’s U.C.C. Cemetery donated a location for a memorial to this national hero.

Since then, the talented sculptor Abraham Mohler has been chosen to create this memorial, that is way past due. After many discussions, the Archer Alexander Memorial will depict this man who not only resisted enslavement but was a leader among his people. Future generations will come to know the story of this real hero. His life is truly worthy, and we are asking today, for your help in seeing this memorial become a reality.

See archeralexander.blog for more information about his life, and the link for the Archer Alexander Memorial.  All funds are to a 501C3 non-profit organization, and your help is needed to reach our goal and see this memorial become a reality. We do hope that on this Giving Tuesday, you will make a donation, no matter what the size, so we may share this story for future generations.