This Month in St. Louis History

A 1780 war battle in St. Louis involved few Americans

St. Louis was the site of a unique war battle in May, 1780. The Battle of Fort San Carlos was the only Revolutionary War-era engagement west of the Mississippi River.

At that time, St. Louis had a resident contingent of Spanish soldiers and some French settlers. The attacking force was made up of British, Indians and Canadians.

Other historical landmarks during May that involve St. Louis or Missouri include:

Each month, Young Saint Louis.com publishes This Month in St. Louis History with assistance from the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. YSL.com and the Museum want to help young readers learn details of the St. Louis' long, significant history.

 

The Battle of Fort San Carlos

St. Louis was a Spanish colony in the late 1700s. The Revolutionary War hadn't started yet and America was still a British colony. Very few English settlers had ventured west of the Appalachian Mountains at that time.

In 1779, France and Spain were allies of American colonists fighting against England.

The French had set up trading posts in the Mississippi River valley. The Spanish had some forts, including Fort San Carlos in St. Louis.

On May 26, 1780, nearly 1,500 British-led Indian warriors launched a sudden attack on St. Louis, which then had 900 residents. The town's militia and citizens returned fire. The Indians finally were turned back when the Spanish cannons from the Fort Carlos guard towers came into play.

The battle lasted only two hours. Twenty-one villagers died.

The Spanish lieutenant governor, Fernando DeLeyba, died a month later of illness, not battle injuries.

But, no further British-led attacks were made on St. Louis.

 

Memorial Day celebrations in St. Louis

The Memorial Day holiday on May 30 is a good time to sample some of the area's history at two famous St. Louis landmarks: The Soldier's Memorial and Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Memorial Day, formerly Decoration Day, was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868. The first observance was that same month on May 30.

The Soldier's Memorial is downtown at the corner of Chestnut and 14th Street. The Memorial houses a military museum dedicated to the memory of armed service men and women who fought in the nation's wars.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the Memorial in 1936.

For information about the Memorial schedule, call (314) 622-4550.

One of the regular events during Memorial Days at the Jefferson Barracks Cemetery is the setting of flags on the graves at the cemetery. That practice by Cub and Boy Scouts started in 1951.

For Jefferson Barracks cemetery information, call (314) 260-8691.

 

Linking St. Louis to the Brooklyn Bridge

The link between St. Louis' Eads Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York is one of lack of communication. James Eads, the builder of the local Eads Bridge, and the Brooklyn bridge builder, Washington Roebling, weren't on speaking terms.

If they had been, Eads could have told Roebling about the danger of "caisson disease" or the bends. This is the same disease that deep-sea divers can get if they work too long underwater.

Workers breathing compressed air while setting the footings at the Eads Bridge had come down with the bends. A Dr. Janimet of St. Louis was the first American to hit on the idea of slow decompression before the workers came to sea level although this was known in Europe before that.

Workers on the Brooklyn Bridge didn't know about that either. Three of them died and several others were partially paralyzed by the bends. One of those paralyzed was builder Roebling. He was a hands-on manager and spent considerable time in the caissons used to keep the river away from the construction.

Desegregation of St. Louis Schools

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., was issued on May 22, 1954.

One week after the Brown decision, the St. Louis School Board unanimously adopted its own desegregation plan. However, by 1980, federal courts had ruled the city plan was insufficient because black children were still mostly in black classrooms.

That led discussions between city and county schools in which black students from the city were bussed to mostly-white suburban schools. The plan eventually involved 16 suburban school districts.

In an article last year by St. Louis Post Dispatch writer William H. Freivogel, the St. Louis unique cross-district desegregation plan was labeled as the largest "school choice" plan in the country.

Freivogel listed the total cost at $1.5 billion.