ARCHER ALEXANDER AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
SCHOOL OF EXTENDED LEARNING – EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
February 12, 2026 (12:00 PM – 1:30 PM)
Online – Register for this free program at this link: https://extendedlearning.eiu.edu/product?catalog=SPALL2026_AAUR
SPEAKER: Dorris Keeven-Franke
Program Description:
On April 15, 1865, a formerly enslaved woman in Marietta Ohio named Charlotte Scott was distraught upon the news of the murder of President Abraham Lincoln. She considered “Lincoln the best friend the colored people ever had” and proclaimed there should be a monument. On April 14, 1876, thousands gathered at the Emancipation Monument, in Washington, D.C., the only such monument dedicated to Lincoln by thousands of the formerly enslaved. The Dedication included, not only President Ulysess S. Grant, but the great orator Frederick Douglass as well. Charlotte Scott would be present but the other man on the monument, Archer Alexander was not there that day.
Archer Alexander is America’s icon for emancipation, as he is seen rising on the memorial to Lincoln. In February of 1863, he informed the Union Troops of local Confederates plans to destroy an essential railroad bridge in St. Charles County, and was forced to flee for his life, using the Underground Railroad he took sixteen other men with him across the frozen river. He was given his freedom for his important military service and would later represent all of those emancipated by joining President Lincoln on the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park, the first memorial to Abraham Lincoln which was raised through funds from the formerly enslaved. In 1880, he was buried in St. Peter’s U.C.C. Cemetery (St. Louis) which is a site listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. This is a true story brought to life through original newspapers, journals, and military hearings.
ARCHER ALEXANDER 
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