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Sharing a recent story in Missouri Life Magazine about Archer Alexander …
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In 2019, I retraced the steps of Archer Alexander as he was brought from Virginia to Missouri, with his wife Louisa, and his son Wesley. They had spent over eight weeks traveling over 1,000 miles, a trip that can be made today in less than 11 hours.
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On Sunday, September 21, 2025 the public is invited to our Annual Archer Alexander Memorial service in honor of his Day of Freedom. Please join us at 1:00 p.m. in the St. Peter’s United Church of Christ Cemetery at 2101 Lucas and Hunt Road in Normandy (St. Louis) Missouri.
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Archer Alexander was the last fugitive slave captured in Missouri, and received his freedom on September 24, 1863, for his important services to the United States Military (Union) after informing them of a plot to destroy a local railroad bridge. He saved hundreds of lives, and a vital link conveying troops, funds and supplies for…
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National Park Service adds the Archer Alexander and the Underground Railroad to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program
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Originally called the Freedom Memorial, the Emancipation Memorial, still stands today in Lincoln Park, in Washington, D.C. The Memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, dedicated on April 14, 1876, was the first memorial to Lincoln erected by the formerly enslaved in grateful appreciation for the Emancipation Proclamation. The enslaved man seen with Lincoln was a real…
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On this date, abolitionist William Greenleaf Eliot would make his final attempt to contact Archer Alexander’s enslaver Richard Hickman Pitman, of Cottleville, asking to purchase him, in order to see him emancipated.
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The discovery that Archer Alexander had been the informant who had passed information to the Union Troops about the Confederate’s plans, sent the whole area around Dardenne Prairie into turmoil! While the trains were halted, and the bridge repaired, everyone from Flint Hill to Naylor’s Store to Cottleville was looking for Pitman’s enslaved man….
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In February 1863, a freedom seeker named Archer Alexander would overhear the local Confederate men in the area, discussing their plans to destroy the Peruque Creek Railroad Bridge. They had been sawing the timbers of the huge wooden trestle, which served as a vital link for the Union Army, carrying troops, supplies and funds across…
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Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order that read “on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be…
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This spring, a new exhibit at the museum, titled “COLLECTED” will share Archer Alexander’s Gold Watch helping to bring his story to life once again… Read More
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Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared all enslaved people shall be considered free on January 1, 1863. When Lincoln was assasinated on April 14, 1865, a memorial to Lincoln was erected paid for and dedicated in Washington, D.C. by the formerly enslaved. The enslaved man seen rising is Archer Alexander, the National Icon for Emancipation.
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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…
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After many discussions, reviews, and thought, Abraham Mohler’s design for a new Memorial at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ Cemetery on Lucas and Hunt in St. Louis, will bring life to this American icon for Emancipation. Rejoicing in his glory of freedom, having left his enslaved life behind, he is truly rising, asking others…
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Join us as we celebrate Archer Alexander’s Day of Freedom! On Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 1:00 pm at St. Peter’s U.C.C. Cemetery (2101 Lucas & Hunt Road St. Louis 63121)
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A short YouTube video shares Archer Alexander’s historic run for freedom on the Underground Railroad…
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Come hear the story of Archer Alexander’s dangerous route to freedom on the Underground Railroad or join us at his Jubilee…
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Over five years ago Bill Baumgartner, Superintendent of the St. Peter’s U.C.C. Cemetery located at 2101 Lucas and Hunt Avenue, in Normandy (St. Louis County) located the record that established that Archer Alexander is buried at St. Peters U.C.C. Cemetery in an unmarked gravesite. Read more…
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As we celebrate Juneteenth, we must recall the reason. The Emancipation Memorial was erected in 1876, by the formerly enslaved, and freedom seekers, to “the best friend the colored people ever had” President Abraham Lincoln. The man with Lincoln is freedom seeker Archer Alexander… read more
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Look closely at the look on Archer Alexander’s face. Have you seen this memorial before? It was dedicated in 1876, with over 25,000 black people attending and its original name is the Freedom Memorial. It was entirely paid for by thousands of formerly enslaved black people.
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…and I send yourself my best Love, I am your affectionate wife, wrote Louisa Alexander to her husband Archer Alexander in November 16, 1863
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Archer Alexander is the great-great-great grandfather of Muhammad Ali.
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Free Virtual Program about Archer Alexander and the Underground Railroad on February 28, 2024 at 6:30 pm.
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Archer Alexander’s burial site is listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Archer Alexander is the Great-Great-Great grandfather of Muhammad Ali. Dorris Keeven-Franke is an author and public historian. A professional genealogist and archivist, she shares the story of this enslaved man born in 1806 near Lexington, Rockbridge County, Virginia. Taken to Missouri…
ARCHER ALEXANDER
The Last Fugitive Slave
