MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of the State, shall be the trustee of this State-Laws of Missouri, 1899, R.S. of Mo., 1969, chapter 183, as revised 1978. OFFICERS, 1995-1998 H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid, President JAMES C OLSON, Kansas City, First Vice President SHERIDAN A. LOGAN, St. Joseph, Second Vice President VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia, Third Vice President NOBLE E. CUNNINGHAM, Columbia, Fourth Vice President R. KENNETH ELLIOTT, Liberty, Fifth Vice President ROBERT G. J. HOESTER, Kirkwood, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer JAMES W. GOODRICH, Columbia, Executive Director, Secretary, and Librarian PERMANENT TRUSTEES FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood AVIS G. TUCKER, Warrensburg LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville TRUSTEES, 1994-1997 JOHN K. HULSTON, Springfield ARVARH E. STRICKLAND, Columbia JAMES B. NUTTER, Kansas City BLANCHE M. TOUHILL, St. Louis BOB PRIDDY, Jefferson City HENRY J. WATERS III, Columbia DALE REESMAN, Boonville TRUSTEES, 1995-1998 WALTER ALLEN, Brookfield R. CROSBY KEMPER III, St. Louis JAMES A. BARNES, Raytown VIRGINIA LAAS, Joplin VERA F. BURK, Kirksville EMORY MELTON, Cassville RICHARD DECOSTER, Canton DOYLE PATTERSON, Kansas City TRUSTEES, 1996-1999 HENRIETTA AMBROSE, Webster Groves JAMES R. MAYO, Bloomfield BRUCE H. BECKETT, Columbia W. GRANT MCMURRAY, Independence CHARLES B. BROWN, Kennett THOMAS L. MILLER SR., Washington LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Eight trustees elected by the board of trustees, together with the president of the Society, consti­ tute the executive committee. The executive director of the Society serves as an ex officio member. WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington, Chairman JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid Avis G. TUCKER, Warrensburg VERA F. BURK, Kirksville VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW VOLUME XCII, NUMBER 1 OCTOBER 1997 JAMES W. GOODRICH LYNN WOLF GENTZLER Editor Associate Editor ANN L. ROGERS LISA FRICK Research Assistant Research Assistant The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW (ISSN 0026-6582) is published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Receipt of the MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW is a benefit of membership in the State Historical Society of Missouri. Phone (573) 882-7083; fax (573) 884-4950; e-mail [email protected]. Periodicals postage is paid at Columbia, Missouri. POSTMASTERS: Send address changes to MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Copyright © 1997 by The State Historical Society of Missouri COVER DESCRIPTION: Aviators Albert Berry (left), Tony Jannus, and Tom Benoist pose in front of a Benoist plane. Thomas Reilly provides a glimpse into the early Missouri aviation indus­ try in "Tom Benoist: Pioneer Early Bird of St. Louis," which begins on page 45. [Cover pho­ tograph courtesy of Thomas Reilly] EDITORIAL POLICY The editors of the Missouri Historical Review welcome submission of articles and documents relating to the history of Missouri. Any aspect of Missouri history will be con­ sidered for publication in the Review. Genealogical studies, however, are not accepted because of limited appeal to general readers. Manuscripts pertaining to all fields of American history will be considered if the subject matter has significant relevance to the history of Missouri or the West. Authors should submit two double-spaced copies of their manuscripts. The foot­ notes, prepared according to The Chicago Manual of Style, also should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the text. Authors may submit manuscripts on disk. The disk must be IBM compatible, preferably in WordPerfect. Two hard copies still are required, and the print must be letter or near-letter quality. Dot matrix submissions will not be accept­ ed. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, sources used, interpretation, and style are criteria for acceptance and publication. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,500 words. Articles that are accepted for publication become the property of the State Historical Society of Missouri and may not be published elsewhere without permission. The Society does not accept responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. Articles published in the Missouri Historical Review are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, Recently Published Articles, Writings on American History, The Western Historical Quarterly, and The Journal of American History. Manuscripts submitted for the Review should be addressed to Dr. James W. Goodrich, Editor, Missouri Historical Review, State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri 65201-7298. BOARD OF EDITORS LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN SUSAN M. HARTMANN University of Missouri-Rolla Ohio State University Columbus WILLIAM E. FOLEY ALAN R. HAVIG Central Missouri State University Stephens College Warrensburg Columbia JEAN TYREE HAMILTON DAVID D. MARCH Marshall Kirksville ARVARH E. STRICKLAND University of Missouri-Columbia CONTENTS "AMIDST TRIALS AND TROUBLES": CAPTAIN SAMUEL CHURCHILL CLARK, C.S.A. By William C. Winter 1 CAISSONS AND CALAMITY: THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF EADS BRIDGE. By Kelli Richardson 18 "OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS": CLASS, GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY ST. LOUIS. By Stephen L. Mclntyre 27 TOM BENOIST: PIONEER EARLY BIRD OF ST. LOUIS. By Thomas Reilly 45 HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS Society to Celebrate Centennial in 1998 61 Society Libraries: Reference Library 62 News in Brief 64 Local Historical Societies 67 Gifts Relating to Missouri 77 Missouri History in Newspapers 79 Missouri History in Magazines 87 In Memoriam 93 BOOK REVIEWS 95 Horsman, Reginald. Frontier Doctor: William Beaumont, America's First Great Medical Scientist. Reviewed by Cynthia DeHaven Pitcock. Greene, Lorenzo J., and ed. with an introduction by Arvarh E. Strickland. Selling Black History for Carter G Woodson: A Diary, 1930-1933. Reviewed by Lawrence O. Christensen. Kaufman, Kenneth C. Dred Scott's Advocate: A Biography of Roswell M. Field. Reviewed by Gary R. Kremer. Pickle, Linda Schelbitzki. Contented among Strangers: Rural German-Speaking Women and Their Families in the Nineteenth-Century Midwest. Reviewed by Janice Brandon-Falcone. BOOK NOTES 101 Vergara, George L. Hugh Robinson: Pioneer Aviator. History and Families of Mississippi County, Missouri, 1845-1995. Ponder, Jerry. The Civil War Battle of Fredericktown, Missouri. Henson, Anna Marie Dieckmann. St. Clement Parish, Bowling Green, Missouri: Family of Faith, 1871-1996. Dains, Mary K. Guided by the Hand of God: The History of the First Christian Church, Columbia, Missouri, 1832-1996. McGlaughlin, Lenard Douglas. A Century of Faith, Pioneers in Missions: A History of Cuivre Baptist Association, 1891-1991. McMillan, Margot Ford. A to Z Missouri: The Dictionary of Missouri Place Names. Douglas County, Missouri: History & Families, 1857-1995. Eakin, Joanne Chiles. Tears and Turmoil: Order No. 11. Farley, James W. Forgotten Valor: The First Missouri Cavalry Regiment, C.S.A. Ring, Lucile Wiley. Breaking the Barriers: The St. Louis Legacy of Women in Law, 1869-1969. Clevenger, Martha R., ed. i(Indescribably Grand": Diaries and Letters from the 1904 World's Fair. CONTRIBUTORS TO MISSOURI CULTURE: HOWARD NEMEROV Inside back cover Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis "Amidst Trials and Troubles": Captain Samuel Churchill Clark, C.S.A. BY WILLIAM C. WINTER* "I felt a little queer when I saw the stars and stripes fall by my own hand," he would write to his Aunt Amelia, "but still went on." Samuel Churchill Clark had been a cadet at the United States Military Academy until July 1861. Upon completion of his second year as a cadet, he left West Point and returned home to Missouri, joining General Sterling Price and the pro- Southern Missouri State Guard in time to command a three-gun battery at the siege of Lexington on September 18, 1861.* *William C. Winter works for Southwestern Bell in St. Louis. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an M.B.A. degree from Michigan State University, East Lansing. Copyright of this article is retained by William C. Winter, 1997. 1 Samuel Churchill Clark to "My Beloved Aunt" [Mrs. Amelia (Samuel B.) Churchill], 25 January 1862, George Rogers and William Clark Family Papers, box 6, fol. 24, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis. Hereinafter cited as Clark Family Papers. 1 2 Missouri Historical Review Missouri State Guard General James Rains promised "a gold meddle," as Clark described it, to the artilleryman who could knock down the large U.S. flag flying at the southeast corner of the fortifications around the Masonic College in which the Union forces had barricaded themselves. Clark responded with youthful enthusiasm. He boyishly described the action to his aunt: ". the way I made the Feds scatter in their trenches was amusing. I did more execution than anyone else. My battery had a good position and tore the college nearly to pieces." He won the gold medal for his efforts.2 Secure in his Christian faith, confident of the rightness of the Southern cause, and filled with the energy and optimism of youth, Clark had joined family and friends in armed resistance against federal authority in Missouri. "Conquer or die" was his motto, he told his aunt, "and die I will before they shall take me unless it is in very extreme circumstances."3 His words proved prophetic. After only nine months as a Confederate soldier, he would be killed in action at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Samuel Churchill Clark was born in St. Louis on September 12, 1842, the second son of Abigail Prather Hancock and Meriwether Lewis Clark. The couple's only daughter died in 1847 at the age of two while her father was serving with Missouri's volunteers in the Mexican War.