Sponsored by: Joe Cronin, Mike Elam, Resolution No. _____18-01 Terry Hollander

A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO OFFICIALLY CHANGE THE DOMESTIC GEOGRAPHIC NAME OF THE CREEK IN ST. CHARLES COUNTY, , CURRENTLY DESIGNATED AS “TRIBUTARY B” TO “ARCHER ALEXANDER CREEK”

WHEREAS the story of Archer Alexander is very important in the history of St. Charles County, and has come to the attention of the St. Charles County Executive and the St. Charles County Council; and WHEREAS, Archer Alexander was a slave from Virginia who was brought to St. Charles County in 1830, and eventually married another slave named Louisa; and WHEREAS, in 1863, during the Civil War, Alexander learned that men had sabotaged a railroad bridge by sawing its timbers, and he informed a Union man who conveyed the message to Union troops who fixed the bridge before any train crossed; and WHEREAS, Alexander later also informed Union officials that arms were hidden in an ice-house on the Campbell farm near the Pitman Farm; and WHEREAS, rebel sympathizers came to suspect Alexander and he feared so much for his safety that he ran away to St. Louis, where he was given refuge by William Eliot, a prominent unionist and earlier founder of Washington University; and

1 WHEREAS, slave catchers apprehended Alexander, but federal officials, at the request of Eliot, recovered him and returned him to freedom; and WHEREAS, Provost Marshal Franklin Dick gave Archer Alexander an order of protection, allowing him to remain in the service of William Eliot; and WHEREAS, in December 1864, the Provost Marshal began recruiting African American troops in St. Charles County, and Tom Alexander, the son of Archer Alexander, was among the first; and WHEREAS, when Tom Alexander was killed in action, Archer expressed pride that his son had served, stating “I couldn’t do it myself, but I thank the Lord my boy did it”; and WHEREAS, in 1869 pictures of Archer Alexander were used by sculptor Thomas Ball as part of the work on a monument to to be erected in Washington, D.C., and it was said that “his likeness, both face and figure, is as correct as that of Mr. Lincoln himself”; and WHEREAS, that statue, using Archer Alexander’s likeness, became the statue and has stood in Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Park since 1876; and WHEREAS, a creek currently designated as “Tributary B,” which flows into the Dardenne Creek, is located in St. Charles County where the Campbell farm used to be located; and

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WHEREAS, the rich history of the story of Archer Alexander in St. Charles County warrants an official naming of “Tributary B” as “Archer Alexander Creek”.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The St. Charles County Council calls upon the United States Department of the Interior to officially assign the Domestic Geographic Name of “Archer Alexander Creek” in the United States Geological Survey for the drainage stream beginning at East Branch of Tributary B and flowing south to Dardenne Creek. Section 2. The Executive Assistant to the County Council is hereby directed to forward a copy of this signed resolution to the United States Department of the Interior and the cities of O’Fallon, Missouri, and Cottleville, Missouri.

______DATE PASSED CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL

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