Archer Alexander
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After Archer Alexander reported what he had overheard to the Union Troops at the Peruque Fort, the entire county was in an uproar. He had risked his life to let them know that the Confederates were about to destroy the most important railroad crossing in Missouri. If captured, he would be tortured, whipped and probably…
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September focuses on those who chose to refuse enslavement of people, either of themselves or of others. The National Park Service program, enacted by Congress in 1998, began listing documented sites, programs, and resources for those researching the Network to Freedom, also known as the Underground Railroad. “This program honors, preserves and promotes the history of…
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On September 24, 1863, St. Louis newspapers announced that the formerly enslaved man Archer Alexander was free. The Last Fugitive Slave was given his freedom by President Abraham Lincoln and the Union Army for his services to the Military. Earlier that same year, he had reported to Union troops stationed at Fort Peruque in St.…
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During the Civil War, after overhearing the area Confederates plotting, he risked his life to inform the Union soldiers at Fort Peruque of a plan to destroy the vital railroad bridge…
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September is National Underground Railroad Month. Archer Alexander, the Last Fugitive Slave in Missouri, was an enslaved hero of the Civil War who was given his freedom by the Union Army for his services. In 1863, he overheard the Confederates plan to destroy a local North Missouri Railroad bridge, which would have killed hundreds of…
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The public is invited to a Memorial for Archer Alexander (1806-1880) the last fugitive slave of the Civil War who is buried in an unmarked grave in St. Louis…
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As we celebrate Juneteenth on its 163rd anniversary, let us not forget all those who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure it happened. No one should ever be allowed to overshadow our Nation’s history in any way, shape, or form. This history belongs to all of us, and as we celebrate, let’s remember those who…
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The National Park Service recently marked the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Memorial…
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The National Park Service will hold an event to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Memorial on Saturday, April 11, 2026, from Noon until 5 pm in Lincoln Park in Washington DC.
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The Emancipation Memorial, also known as the Freedman’s Memorial, is the only memorial to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. that was erected by the formerly enslaved, and was dedicated on April 14, 1876.
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Archer Alexander was born near Lexington, in Rockbridge County Virginia. He was taken to Missouri in 1829, where he lived in St. Charles for 30 years. He fled on the Undergroud Railroad in 1863, with 16 others. He made his way to St. Louis where he gained his freedom on September 24, 1863 for his…
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ARCHER ALEXANDER AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, Thursday, February 26, 2026 6:00 PM, ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY – CLARK BRANCH 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd 314-994-3300
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A letter from Archer Alexander to his friends and family….
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The Dedication included, not only President Ulysess S. Grant, but the great orator Frederick Douglass as well. Marcia Scott would be present but the other man on the monument, Archer Alexander was not there that day.
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In February of 1863, on a frigid Sunday morning at 3:00 am, sixteen men attempted to make their way across an ice-blocked Missouri River in search of freedom. A local abolitionist, a German immigrant, had stowed a boat near the local ferry crossing, named Howell’s Ferry, for them to use.
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The Rock Creek Civil War Round Table (RCCWRT) is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting on Saturday, February 7, 2026 where historian Dorris Keeven-Franke will share the story of Archer Alexander.
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The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except for punishment of a crime. On October 20, 1940, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 3 cent postage stamp with the image of that Monument. The Emancipation Monument served as the primary national memorial to Lincoln in DC until 1922, when the Lincoln Memorial…
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On September 24, 1863, a St. Louis newspaper announced “Archer Alexander, a negro … whose last master was Richard Hickman Pitman of the County of St. Charles…is hereby declared to be an emancipated slave and a free man!
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Since this story first aired, the site of freedom seeker’s Archer Alexander’s burial has been listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom….
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The controversial Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park in Washington DC with President Abraham Lincoln includes Archer Alexander, an enslaved man seen rising in freedom given by the Emancipation Proclamation, first announced on this date…
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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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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
