MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW Published Quarterly By The State Historical Society of Missouri COLUMBIA. MISSOURI 1 jflnSfik. :'*W ij»*« NAtnin' THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of this State, shall be the trustee of this State—Laws of Missouri, 1899, R. S. of Mo., 1949, Chapter 183. OFFICERS 1962-65 ROY D. WILLIAMS, Boonville, President L. E. MEADOR, Springfield, First Vice President LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville, Second Vice President LEWIS E. ATHERTON, Columbia, Third Vice President RUSSELL V. DYE, Liberty, Fourth Vice President WILLIAM C. TUCKER, Warrensburg, Fifth Vice President JOHN A. WINKLER, Hannibal, Sixth Vice President R. B. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER, Columbia, Secretary Emeritus and Consultant RICHARD S. BROWNLEE, Columbia, Director, Secretary, and Librarian TRUSTEES Permanent Trustees, Former Presidents of the Society E. L. DALE, Carthage E. E. SWAIN, Kirksville RUSH H. LIMBAUGH, Cape Girardeau L. M. WHITE, Mexico GEORGE A. ROZIER, Jefferson City Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1965 FRANK P. BRIGGS, Macon W. C. HEWITT, Shelbyville HENRY A. BUNDSCHU, Independence ROBERT NAGEL JONES, St. Louis R. I. COLBORN, Paris GEORGE W. SOMERVILLE, Chillicothe VICTOR A. GIERKE, Louisiana WILLIAM C. TUCKER, Warrensburg Term Expires at Annual Meeting,^1966 BARTLETT BODER, St. Joseph LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville STANLEY J. GOODMAN, St. Louis W. WALLACE SMITH, Independence L. E. MEADOR, Springfield JACK STAPLETON, Stanberry JOSEPH H. MOORE, Charleston HENRY C. THOMPSON, Bonne Terre Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1967 WILLIAM AULL, III, Lexington *FRANK LUTHER MOTT, Columbia WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton GEORGE H. SCRUTON, Sedalia ALFRED O. FUERBRINGER, St. Louis JAMES TODD, Moberly GEORGE FULLER GREEN, Kansas City T. BALLARD WATTERS, Marshfield EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The twenty-nine Trustees, the President and the Secretary of the Society, the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and President of the University of Missouri constitute the Executive Committee. FINANCE COMMITTEE Five members of the Executive Committee appointed by the President of the Society at each annual meeting of the Executive Committee constitute the Finance Committee. L. M. WHITE, Mexico, Chairman ELMER ELLIS, Columbia GEORGE A. ROZIER, Jefferson City W. C. HEWITT, Shelbyville T. BALLARD WATTERS, Marshfield •Deceased Volume LIX January 1965 Number 2 MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW Published Quarterly by THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA, MISSOURI RICHARD S. BROWNLEE EDITOR JAMES E. MOSS ASSOCIATE EDITOR DOROTHY CALDWELL ASSISTANT EDITOR The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW it published quar­ terly al 119 South Elson Street, Kirkiville, Missouri. Send communications and change of address to The State Histor­ ical Society of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. Second class postage is paid at Kirksville, Missouri. The REVIEW is sent free to all member* of The Stale Historical Society of Missouri. Membership dues in the Society are $1.00 a year or $25 for an individual life member­ ship. The Society assumes no responsibility for statements made by contributors to the magazine. CONTENTS Page RAILROAD MEN VERSUS STEAMBOAT MEN: THE FIRST BRIDGING OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. By Benedict K. Zobrist 159 JOSEPH WINGATE FOLK: THE POLITICIAN AS SPEAKER AND PUBLIC SERVANT. By A. L. Thurman, Jr 173 MISSOURIANS WHO "MARCHED THROUGH GEORGIA." By Leslie Anders 192 CONCORDIA SEMINARY: FOR 125 YEARS TOWARD A MORE EXCELLENT MINISTRY. By Carl S. Meyer 210 MILTON BURCH: ANTI-GUERRILLA FIGHTER. By Howard V. Canan 223 HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS Memorial Service Commemorates Battle of Pilot Knob Centennial 243 Battle of Westport Centennial Celebration 244 Fred Shane Publishes Book of Drawings 245 Missouri Observes American Landmarks Celebration 247 News In Brief 248 Graduate Theses Relating to Missouri History 251 Local Historical Societies 253 Commemorative Events 264 Honors and Tributes 267 Gifts 269 Missouri History In Newspapers 270 Missouri Historical Data In Magazines 276 Errata 277 In Memoriam 278 Book Reviews 283 Book Notes 291 CHARITON COUNTY COURTHOUSE Verso Back Cover HENRY SHAW Back Cover THE COVER: The front cover illustrations entitled The uLighting Express" Trains Leaving The Junction and A Midnight Race On The Mississippi were taken from prints of Currier and Ives Lithographs in the art collection of the State Historical Society of Missouri. TEAMBOAT MEN VERSUS RAILROAD MEN THE FIRST BRIDGING OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER *Benedict K. Zobrist, Ph.D., is associate professor of history and assistant dean, Augus- tana College, Rock Island, Illinois. Dr. Zobrist BY BENEDICT K. ZOBRIST* developed an interest in the subject of this article while serving as Command Historian of the Army Weapons Command located on Rock Island Arsenal. 160 Missouri Historical Review The completion of a railroad bridge in 1856, the first to span the Mississippi River, ostensibly marked only another engineering feat of Yankee ingenuity; yet, in a broader aspect, it was another sign of railroad expansion—another omen of the declining steamboat era. In the pre-Civil War decade, the significance of a single item such as this bridge might easily be lost in the larger struggles of sectional­ ism and the conflict for commercial supremacy in the rich middle section of the United States. It was, however, the very existence of this bridge at Rock Island, Illinois, that presented opportunities for many of these antagonistic interests to give vociferous utterance and vivid action to their sentiments. In 1848 the commercial conflict had already taken sharp features with the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal; Chicago now assumed the special advantages of the Illinois River valley grain trade which had previously been held by St. Louis. Soon thereafter, paralleling railroad lines were competing with the canal. Here was the answer to western needs for good transportation facilities which would connect the farmer with a center in which to market his produce and from which the produce could be easily shipped to the eastern industrial areas; however, as a result of this railroad development, the scene for the duel between the railroad men of Chicago and the steamboat men of St. Louis was first set by the completion of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Febru­ ary 22, 1854, was the occasion of celebration and pompous ceremony at Rock Island, for this marked the first continuous rail connection of the Great Lakes with the Mississippi.1 The immediate object of the enterprising Rock Island Railroad was now to bridge the muddy Mississippi. Rock Island was chosen as the site for the bridge because of the railroad engineers' opinion that it offered a minimum of hazard to the bridge and to navigation, as well as economy in construction costs, since an island in the middle of the river would make the bridging easier.2 On the opposite side of the river, at Davenport, Iowa, the Rock Island Railroad planned to connect with its western extension, the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad. This railroad, backed by the same interests as the Rock Island Railroad but incorporated separately in the state of Iowa on February 22, 1853, was ultimately to run from Davenport to Council Bluffs, Iowa.3 Arthur C. Cole, The Era of the Civil War, 1848-1870 (Springfield, 1919), 27, 29-30, 41. 2William H. Clark, Railroads and Rivers (Boston, 1939), 155; Frank F. Fowle, "The Original Rock Island Bridge across the Mississippi River," The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Bulletin No. 56 (n.p., 1941), 9; and John W. Starr, Jr., One Hundred Years of American Railroading (New York, 1928), 194. 3William Bross, Rail-roads, History and Commerce of Chicago (Chicago, 1854), 10-11; Charles Snyder, "Antoine LeClaire, the First Proprietor of Davenport," Annals of Iowa, XXIII (October, 1941), 111. Steamboat Men Versus Railroad Men " 161 Excitement and agitation for a bridge, though, had begun even before the rails had reached Rock Island. Realizing the value of a direct railroad connection with the East, Davenport citizens actively boosted plans for a bridge by holding a large public dinner and taking subscriptions.4 Meanwhile in Illinois actual measures were taken for the building of the bridge. On January 17, 1853, the Illinois legislature passed an act incorporating the Railroad Bridge Company "with power to build, maintain and use a railroad bridge over the Mississippi river" at Rock Island "in such manner as shall not materially obstruct or interfere with the free navigation of said river."5 An agreement to construct the bridge was then made between the Bridge Company and the two railroads.6 Henry Farnam, chief engineer of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, was president of the new company.7 Even then, while the bridge plans were still only on paper, St. Louis certainly was aware of current happenings and of their future significance. In January, 1853, the St. Louis Republican stated that: "The project of erecting a bridge across the river at Rock Island . should . open the eyes of our citizens to what is going on elsewhere, to divert trade from us." With this bridge completed, "the railroad connecting Chicago with Rock Island City . will scarcely be suspended but will take up its race west­ ward." Admiration, however, was expressed for "that spirit of enterprise which can engage in such noble works . .;" but for her own citizens it was noted "that those who ought to be foremost in [these noble works] . are the real laggards, and almost paralyze every effort of the kind." Aside from these forecasts of things to come, the main concern of the article centered around the question of whether this bridge was "likely in its construction to form an obstruction to the free navigation of the Mississippi." No matter where such a structure might be constructed, "this consideration must always be kept in view." It was asserted that "The free navigation of the Mississippi is solemnly guaranteed, and every Legislature will, if it acts with ordinary prudence, provide against any obstruction to such navigation." The article closed in the surprisingly conservative tone that "If [this were] done in the bill now before [the Illinois legislature] .