In 1863, an enslaved man named Archer Alexander overheard the area’s Confederates planning to sabotage a nearby railroad bridge on the North Missouri Railroad at Peruque Creek. This bridge was a vital link for the Union Army, carrying hundreds of troops, supplies, and funds to Jefferson City and beyond. Risking his life, he informed the men stationed at the Union fort of what was about to happen. The Provost Marshall stopped the trains, and after discovering the cache of hidden arms and ammunition, put an end to the plot. Furious, the local secesh set out to find the traitor who had revealed them. Going to every farm and plantation, they would furiously question all the enslaved, seeking the informant. The entire neighborhood was under suspicion, and the tension was high. Culminating on a cold February night, Archer Alexander would join with sixteen other enslaved men to escape across the frozen Missouri River at Howell’s Ferry. A local German had left a boat near the ferry, where they would cross to the farm-to-market road, which is today called Olive Street Road, used as a route on the Underground Railroad. In the afternoon of the next day, the local slave patrol caught up with the men and recaptured them. About to claim the huge bounty for their capture, they returned to a local inn along the river to await their enslavers, Bates, McCluer, and Pitman. However, Archer Alexander managed to escape and continue his journey to a safe house in St. Louis. The Howell’s Ferry Crossing site is listed on the National Underground Railroad. For more, see https://nps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=64dac0019fd64bda85b7a06387df26c5
September is National Underground Railroad Month
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1205/index.htm
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