History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 182

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 182

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July 30th, Professor Wise and his son Charles made another ascension from Washington Square, St. Louis, in the balloon " Jupiter."

November 30th, the south end of Lucas Market was blown down by a tornado. Many houses were unroofed, and other damage done.

November 10th, the centennial anniversary of the birth of Frederick von Schiller, the German author, was celebrated. A salute of one hundred guns was fired at sunrise, and the firing was kept up at intervals throughout the day. The German military companies, benevolent societics, Saengerbund, and other associa- tions paraded, and in the evening (commencing at five o'clock) there was an enjoyable entertainment at the Mercantile Library Hall. Many houses and other buildings were brilliantly illuminated, and there was a handsome display of fireworks.

1833

PROMINENT EVENTS.

1860. August 11th, the Chicago Zouaves visited St. Louis.

1861. In September of this year Prince Napoleon and suite visited St. Louis. During his visit he called upon Gen. Fremont, and, accompanied by Mayor Taylor, made a trip to the mouth of the Missouri, and along the river front.

1864. January 1st, intensely cold in St. Louis. Before daylight the thermometer indicated 22° bclow zero, and at seven o'clock 19.5° below ; such a degree of cold was without a parallel in St. Louis for at least thirty-one years. For twenty-two winters during that period the mercury had sunk to or below zero. In seven of those winters it fell below ten degrees, viz., in January, 1834; February, 1835 ; January, 1841; January, 1852; February, 1856 ; January, 1857; and January, 1864; but at no time before 1864 had it indicated so intensc a degree of cold as on the 1st of January.

On the 29th of January a dinner was given to Maj .- Gen. U. S. Grant at the Lindell Hotel, at which there were three hundred guests. Judge Samuel Treat, of the United States Court, presided, assisted by Messrs. John O'Fallon, Wayman Crow, Adolphus Meier, Judge Samuel Reber, James Archer, George R. Taylor, and Barton Able as vice-presidents. Among the military guests were Maj .- Gen. Schofield, and Brig .- Gens. James Totten, John B. Gray, John McNeil, E. B. Brown, Clinton B. Fisk, and A. G. Edwards.

1865. April 15th, the news of the assassination of President Lincoln reached the city. As soon as the official confirmation of the President's death was received the entire city was draped in mourning. At the Levee many of the steamboats displayed flags dressed in crape. Public notice had before been given that different congregations of various Chris- tian denominations would unite together on April 16th for a thanksgiving celebration of victories in certain churches which were named. The decorations in these churches were bordered in crapc, and the buildings put into mourning. The exercises were also of the most solemn character. April 17th a meet- ing of merchants and business men was held on 'Change. There was a large attendance, and the meeting was called to order by Barton Able, who stated the object of the assembly in a brief but suit- able manner. He was followed and scconded in addresses by Hon. Henry T. Blow, William M. McPherson, and Brig .- Gen. Clinton B. Fisk.

The following preamble and resolutions, introduced by George Partridge, were then read and unanimously adopted :

" Whereas, The people of the United States have been sud- denly called upon, in the midst of their rejoicing for victories won and coming peace, to deeply mourn the loss of their Chief Magistrate by an untimely and cruel death by assassination ; therefore be it

" Resolved, That in the death of Abraham Lincoln, Presi- dent of these United States, the nation has lost a noble patriot, a wise statesman, a just and honest man.

" Resolved, That our heartfelt sympathies are tendered to his family in this hour of their deepest affliction.

" Resolved, That although an attempt has been made to de- stroy the life of this nation by the assassination of its chief officers, yet we confidently believe that Divine Providence will more fully establish, preserve, and perpetuate the integrity, honor, and glory of this nation, by the enforcement of law, lib- erty, and freedom among this people, than ever before.

" Resolved, That it is the duty of every loyal man to stand pledged to uphold and strengthen the hands of Andrew John- son, upon whom the Presidential office now devolves, and to ask God to give him wisdom, discretion, and counsel in the dis- charge of his official duties.

" Resolved, That the Union Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis will, by their delegates, unite with such others as may be appointed by the County Court, the Common Council, and the military authorities of this city in attending the funeral at Springfield in honor of the late Chief Magistrate of the nation.

" Resolved, That this hall be draped in mourning for thirty days."

At the meeting of the Common Council, April 18th, the following resolutions, introduced by Mr. Stagg im- mediately before adjournment, were read by the clerk and unanimously adopted :

" Whereas, In the midst of rejoicing over the splendid vic- tory of the Union against armed rebels and traitors, the sad in- telligence of the death of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by the hand of a brutal assassin, has reached us ; therefore be it

" Resolved, By the Common Council of the city of St. Louis, that we deeply mourn the irreparable loss to the Union of its most worthy Chief Magistrate, and mingle our tears of sorrow with those of the nation upon the death of so great and good a man.

" Resolved, That in the death of Abraham Lincoln the nation is deprived of the eminent services of one whose wisdom, pru- dence, and statesmanship have guided successfully the ship of State through the most gigantic and causeless rebellion the world has ever known.

" Resolved, That in the acts of our late Chief Magistrate we recognize the highest virtues that belong to the Christian patriot and sage.

" Resolved, That highest on the roll of fame, history will write the name of Abraham Lincoln, the friend of human liberty and preserver of the American Union.

" Resolved, That as a token of our heartfelt grief, the hall of the Common Council be appropriately draped in mourning for the space of thirty days, and that the American flag be raised half-mast.

" Resolved, That our heartfelt sympathics are tendcred to his family in this the hour of their deepest affliction.

" Resolved, That a committee of five, in conjunction with the mayor, be appointed to make all proper arrangements for the funcral obsequies of our lamented Chief Magistrate, and that the Common Council as a body, in conjunction with the mayor and heads of departments, attend the funeral of Presi- dent Lincoln at Springfield, Ill.

1834

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

" Resolved, That all the hells of the city be tolled at the hour of twelve o'clock M. on Wednesday, during the assembling of the citizens at the different places of worship.

" Resolved, That it is the duty of the authorities at Washing- ton to ferret out the authors of the hrutal assassination of Presi- dent Lincoln and Secretary Seward, and if it he found that any of the leaders of the Rebellion are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the act, they cause them to he summarily exe- cuted when caught."

On the 18th Mayor Thomas also issued the follow- ing proclamation :

" MAYOR'S OFFICE, ST. LOUIS, April 18, 1865.

"WHEREAS, The Hon. William Hunter, Acting Secretary of State, has announced to the people of the United States that the funeral ceremonies of the lamented Chief Magistrate will take place at the Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., at twelve o'clock noon on Wednesday, the 19th inst., and has in- vited the various religious denominations throughout the coun- try to meet in their respective places of worship at that hour, for the purpose of solemnizing the occasion with appropriate services ;

" AND WHEREAS, After waiting until one o'clock p.M. for answer to a telegram without receiving any ;

" Now, therefore, I, James S. Thomas, mayor of the city of St. Louis, request that due ohservance be given by all citizens to the wishes of the Secretary of State as set forth in said proclamation, and for the purpose of more fully carrying out his wishes and showing due respect to the memory of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, request,

" 1st, That on said day (Wednesday, the 19th inst.) all busi- ness be suspended.

" 2d, That all saloons and drinking-houses be closed from nine A.M. to nine P.M. on said day.

"3d, That all theatres and other places of amusement be closed, and remain so until Monday, the 24th inst.

" I am gratified to state that the managers of all the theatres have already acquiesced in this request, and hope that all other places of amusement will do the same.

" JAMES S. THOMAS, Mayor. " Attest : J. W. HEATH, Register."

The Episcopal Bishop of Missouri also issued an address to the Episcopal Churches. On the 19th, the day of the burial of the remains of President Lincoln at Springfield, religious exercises were held in the churches designated, and the bells were tolled.

An order was issued by the County Court for the erection of a cenotaph in the court-house rotunda. This was done by Mr. Rumbold, the county architect. It was a canopied octagonal pedestal, with appropriate architectural decorations, upon which a coffin remained during the period of mourning, to symbolize the re- mains of the President lying in state.

1866. March 11th, the following correspondence, which passed between a committee of prominent citi- zens and Maj .- Gen. Sherman, was made public through the Missouri Republican :

"ST. LOUIS, Aug. 15, 1865.

" MAJ .- GEN. SHERMAN :

" Dear Sir,-Your friends, citizens of St. Louis, have ap- pointed us a committee to express their gratification in having you, after four years' ahsence, once more among them as a

fellow-citizen, and, in token of their appreciation of your great service tendered to the Union, ask you to receive from them the sum of thirty thousand dollars, now in the hands of their treas- urer, John E. Yore, Esq., and subject to your order, with the wish that you will with it purchase a home in our midst.

" Believe us, general, no pleasanter duty has ever been before given us.

"John J. Roe, William M. McPherson, O. Garri- son, John How, Barton Ahle, John E. Yore."

" HEADQUARTERS MIL. DIV.

OF THE MISSISSIPPI, " ST. LOUIS, Mo., Aug. 15, 1865.

" MESSRS. JOHN HOW, BARTON ABLE, JOHN J. ROE, W. M. Mc- PHERSON, O. GARRISON, and JOHN E. YORE, ST. LOUIS, MO. :

" Gentlemen,-I am this morning in receipt of your kind note, in which you inform me that you have placed the sum of thirty thousand dollars to my credit with which to enable me to procure a home in your midst. I can hardly find words ade- quate to convey to you my sense of obligation, hoth for the suh- ject matter and the manner in which it is done. This sum of money exceeds all that I have received from the government of the United States for four years of lahor in the midst of danger and trouble, and I can hardly suppose I merit so valuable a re- ward from personal friends. But I confess it comes to me in such a shape as to encourage a belief that it will provide me with what I most need, a home for my family, and will therefore increase my usefulness in the future. I therefore accept it with grateful thanks, and shall proceed to invest the amount in the purchase of a good house and lot, and will furnish it to the extent of every cent, when I will report to you the exact result. The property thus acquired shall be the ' home' of myself and family as long as I possibly can command my time, which I hope will be for life.

" Again thanking you most kindly, and through you the friends who have made up this sum,

"I am, with great respect, your friend and servant,

" WILLIAM T. SHERMAN, " Maj .- Gen. United States Army."

Gen. Sherman subsequently notified the committee that he had personally examined a great many places that were held for sale, and gave preference to a house on Garrison Avenue, near the corner of Frank- lin, the property of David Nicholson, it fronting eighty- four feet on Garrison Avenue, with a depth of one hun- dred and fifty feet, and held at twenty-five thousand five hundred dollars, whereupon the committee made the purchase and handed Gen. Sherman the deed, and placed the balance, four thousand five hundred dollars, to his credit in the Union National Bank of St. Louis. Gen. Sherman subsequently reported that he had completely and comfortably furnished his house in all respects, at a cost but little exceeding the sum thus provided.

On September 8tlı, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, reached St. Louis, in response to an invitation from the city authorities and citizens. After a week of preparation a fleet of thirty-six steamboats laden with citizens of St. Louis steamed up to Alton, Ill., and receiving the Chief Executive escorted him to St. Louis, where he became the

1835

MOBS AND RIOTS.

guest of the eity. President Johnson was aceom- panied by Secretary Seward and Secretary Welles of his eabinet, Admiral Farragut and Gen. Grant.

1869. April 20th, St. Louis was visited by a fearful hail-storm. It is asserted that hail-stones an ineh in diameter descended. Over twenty thousand dollars' worth of glass was destroyed, and funerals were dispersed and hearses overturned.

1871. March 8th, East St. Louis and the eastern shore of the Mississippi River were devastated by a tornado. The storm, which did not last more than three minutes, seemed to come from the south-south- west, and swept eastward of the city proper. It touched the Illinois shore first at the elevator, and passed along the river bank, inelining to the eastward, and terminating at the track of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad, nearly at the head of Bloody Island. Its velocity is estimated to have been from sixty to seventy miles an hour, and its destructive force was almost irresistible. Seven men were killed and more than fifty persons wounded. A portion of the elevator was demolished, and the steamer " Mollie Able," the ferry-boats " Edwardsville," " Milwaukee," and " America," the ram " Vindicator," the Van- dalia Railroad freight-house, and the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad freight-house and depot were badly wrecked. A locomotive and a Pullman ear and nine ordinary passenger-cars were hurled from the track, and many buildings in East St. Louis were demol- ished. The handsome passenger depot of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and two freight-houses and other buildings suffered great damage. Three freight-houses belonging to the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad were blown from their foundations and demolished.

Gen. Ranney, the general freight agent of the Memphis and St. Louis Packet Company, was stand- ing on the wharf-boat looking at the cable chains which held the head of the boat. The wind lifted him suddenly from his feet, and carried him some little distance and dropped him into the river. He succeeded, however, in reaching land in safety. Be- tween sixty and seventy dwellings in East St. Louis were destroyed, and the loss thus eaused amounted to about seventy five thousand dollars. The destruction of other property was enormous. Considerable damage was inflicted at Alma, Brooklyn, Nameoka, and other towns and at various points in St. Clair County.

1871. June 25th, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the elevation of Pope Pius IX. to the pontificate was celebrated in St. Louis with imposing ceremonies. There was a parade of the Catholic societies four miles in length, and a general illumination of the city at night. Wreaths of evergreen with portraits of the

pope were conspicuously displayed from many private dwellings. Pyrotechnie displays and bonfires were also features of the demonstration. Maj. Henry S. Turner was the grand marshal of the procession. The aids to the grand marshal were Maj. John P. McGrath, John H. Tracy, Capt. William Albright, William H. Lee, Theodore Hunt, and James L. Patterson. The assistant marshals were Jolın Fletcher, William L. Ewing, B. M. Chambers, Richard Ennis, J. J. Fitz- william, Augustus Lamping, Henry Rechtien, George Kaufhold, James Gorman, J. F. Grefenkamp, Charles W. Hogan, J. F. Conroy, Patrick Ahearn, Julius S. Walsh, Col. C. Maguire, Hon. John Finn, William Henry, Capt. Henry Hannibal, Col. Arnold Beck, F. Arendes, Patrick Monahan, John Busby, Hon. P. J. Pauley, Richard Walsh, Thomas P. Gleason, and Dr. James C. Cogan.

1872. On the night of January 5th the Russian Grand Duke Alexis and suite reached St. Louis from Chicago, and remained in the eity several days. He occupied a suite of rooms at the Southern Hotel, where a ball was given in his honor on the night of January 8th.

1873. October 12th, a joint Catholie celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Father Mathew, the famous temperanee orator, took place, on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the Carmelite Convent, at Second Carondelet Avenue and Vietor Street. The anniversary occurred on the 10th, but the 12th was chosen, as it was a more convenient day.

1874. May 28th, a tornado struck St. Louis, and inflicted great damage upon buildings and the vessels along the river front.

MOBS AND RIOTS.1

On the afternoon of Feb. 25, 1844, some boys were playing ball on the common in the immediate vicinity of the Medical College building of the St. Louis Uni- versity. This building is still standing on Washington Avenue, near Eleventh Street, a two-story brick strue- ture, dingy with age, the front entrance of which has been walled up for years, effectually precluding any access to it from the street. The boys in their play knocked their ball over the fence into the grounds of the university, and in their search for it stumbled upon the opening into the vault, where were thrown the remains of several bodies that had been used for the purpose of dissection. They ran away and reported to other boys and to their parents the discovery which they had made. Others came and looked, and soon

1 For the account of the Medical College riot the author is indebted to Dr. E. M. Nelson.

1836

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

the wildest stories were in circulation. Crowds began to assemble about the building, until by three o'clock over one thousand people were gathered together. The greatest excitement prevailed, and efforts were repeatedly made by the ringleaders to excite the people to violent action, and to tear down the building. By six o'clock the crowd had increased to three thousand or four thousand, and the mayor ordered out the mil- itia. The mayor and city marshal and other officers and prominent citizens were on the grounds the whole afternoon, making every endeavor to quell the disturb- ance and prevent it from becoming more serious. Several of the leaders were arrested and placed in the calaboose. Up to that time no damage had been done to the building except that the windows had been broken by throwing bricks and fragments of rock. Speeches were made to the crowd by Messrs. A. Kay- ser, James Mahon, and Blennerhassett, and Judge Mullanphy, urging them to refrain from any violent demonstrations. Finally, as the result of a conference between the mayor and a committee appointed from the crowd, it was arranged that the militia should be withdrawn, and the men who had been arrested should be released, and the crowd should disperse. A com- mittee of twelve was appointed to guard the college building, and the mob adjourned to the court-house.

Later, however, the rioters reassembled at the col- lege more enraged than ever, and excited by their leaders to a perfect frenzy. Bones and fragments of bodies were brought up from the pit into which they had been thrown. The sight of these soon inflamed the passions of the mob to such a degree that they were prepared for any deeds of violence. They broke down the doors, made their way into all the rooms of the college building, tore down and destroyed all the furniture, demolished all the valuable material that had been prepared with much care and at great ex- pense for the museum, and in fact left nothing of the equipment of the institution save only the bare walls and roof.

The shout then was raised to go to the other col- lege, the Missouri School. Here the demonstrator of anatomy and some of the professors and students had made preparations to receive such a visit. The dissecting-room was cleared out, every trace of blood or other indication of the purposes to which it was applied was removed with care from the floor and tables. The opening into the vault, which was ar- ranged in the side of the room like an old-fashioned fireplace, with an opening downward instead of a chimney-flue upward, was closed up with a sheet-iron fender, and a cooking-stove was moved in and set before it, as if it were really a fireplace and chimney.

By dint of hard work this was all accomplished before the rioters arrived there. On their approach the doors were thrown open, and they were invited to come in and see for themselves that all was right. Some of the number went all through the building, and as they did not think to look behind the sheet- iron fireboard that filled up the supposed chimney- place, they discovered nothing to find fault with, and so reported to the rest. Accordingly the mob left with- out doing any damage there.

In April, 1844, a city election was held, which was signalized by a disturbance and riot in the Fifth Ward. In the afternoon a fight occurred between some members of the opposing parties, which led to the collection, at a later hour, of a large number of the friends of both, when a much more serious dis- turbance took place. Several well-known citizens who had no part in the affair were seriously injured. As Joseph Jones was passing T. Maher's tavern, he was fired upon and shot in the shoulder, it was said, by some one in the house. When this was reported to the assemblage that had gathered upon Franklin Avenue, it immediately started for the tavern, broke in the doors and windows, and threw the furniture, liquor, beds, and all the contents into the street. This terminated the disturbance. Mr. Jones died April 5th from the effects of his wound.

On Sunday morning, July 29, 1849, a fire broke out in the engine-room of the steamer " Algoma," which had arrived the evening before from the Mis- souri River with a large cargo. The origin of the fire is unknown. From the " Algoma" it quickly communicated to the " Mary," the " Phoenix," the " Dubuque," and the "San Francisco," all of which were destroyed. The " San Francisco" was cut loose and floated out into the stream, but was carried by the force of the current against the stern of the " Mary," where she hung until she took fire and was consumed. The boats lay above the foot of Vine Street, and below Morgan. While the firemen were still at work upon the fire, and about half-past five A.M., a difficulty took place between a bystander and a member of one of the fire companies, which in the beginning amounted to nothing more than a blow or two. It was, however, the signal for a general fight, in which every possible kind of missile was used. The bystanders retreated, closely followed by the fire- men of several companies, and took refuge in a coffee- house kept by J. O'Brien, 89 Levee. When the fire- men and their friends attempted to enter by forcing the doors of the house, they were assailed with fire- arms from the windows above, and two or three of their number were slightly wounded. It was now

1837

MOBS AND RIOTS.

their turn to fall back, and while doing so some fifteen or twenty men issued from O'Brien's door and fired upon the retreating mass. A few shots were returned by the firemen, and then a rush was made and the Levee soon cleared. The men who had issued from O'Brien's, with their friends, form- ing a mob, which was largely composed of river boat- men, retreated up Morgan Street, taking refuge in houses farther up the Levee. The firemen and their friends now numbered several hundred, many of them under arms.

The mayor and the police succeeded after great dif- ficulty in arresting a number of the rioters upon both sides and conducting them to the calaboose, but the work of destruction soon commenced. In a few min- utes O'Brien's house was carried by assault ; every- thing it contained was broken into pieces and thrown into the streets, and the windows and doors were torn out. Almost simultaneously with the attack upon O'Brien's, the coffee- and boarding-houses of Dennis Murphy, No. 104 Battle Row, and B. Shan- non, No. 14 Green Street, were attacked and their contents destroyed. Shortly after the destruction of the houses on the Levee a large detachment marched up Cherry Street to the coffee-house of James Gilli- gan, which was also completely demolished. It next proceeded to the corner of Fifth and. Morgan Streets, and destroyed everything in the coffee-house occupied by Terrence Brady. After the destruction of the last- named house the rioters began to disperse and several further arrests were made by the police. The mayor appointed an additional police force, and fifty citizens were detailed to preserve order during the night. The St. Louis Grays also, at the mayor's request, hield them- selvcs in readiness. Nothing of a serious nature oc- curred during the afternoon. About nine o'clock in the evening a large party of excited firemen and their friends, to the number of two or three hundred, pro- ceeded to the wharf at the foot of Morgan Street with a howitzer, which was placed so as to rake Battle Row, in which were the sailor boarding-houses, in the event of an outbreak. Some of the party had contrived to get possession of an old six-inch howitzer belonging to the steamboat " Missouri," which was lying in the yard attached to the foundry of Gaty, McCune & Glasby. It was loaded with slugs and boiler-iron punchings, and was said to have been in good order to do execution. The mob remained on the wharf with the howitzer for some time, and the mayor and police made several ineffectual attempts to get possession of it. Those who had control did not evince much dis- position to use it, and when rain commenced to fall, about half-past ten o'clock, the mob started with the

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 182

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358