Roques The Drum Major - The Narrative

Leader of the first band Saint Louis ever had.
Played at the opening of Jefferson Barracks.
Wounded at the Battle of New Orleans,
in the presence of General Jackson; in the Mexican War.

Many of the old citizens of Saint Louis still have a pleasant rememberance of John Roques, the leader of a famous corps; for many years paraded the streets; his band at the head of military Civic Society Processions. The services of his band were in constant requisition at all parades; as there were few or no band at an early age. It was not until after the Mexican War that German bands made their appearance, and became the popular music of the streets. The drum music was the favorite music; and as he was an expert in his profession. He always lived in camps, having been a soldier in the army from boyhood, and up to doing the first stage of his soldiering at Jefferson Barracks. His skill was duly appreciated by the citizens who visited that part. As a band leader he secured the best players in the city; who on parade were dressed in grey uniforms with yellow trimmings. Sometimes on special occasions, when an additional musical performer, as a trumpter, was required, he sent abroad for a musician. On one occasion on the 22nd of February, when a grand parade and a ball at night were to take place, he sent to Cincinnati for an African American bugler named Duncan and paid him $50 for his services. This fact illustrates the lack of instrumental music and skilled performers at that period. The violin and stringed instruments however have been long in vouge among the real French.

When Roques arrived at Jefferson Barracks in 1827 that part had been established as a school of instruction. The Stone Barracks were in progress of contruction, and his regiments were encamped in tents, at the declivity of a hill, with log fired in front of the tents to keep the men armed and to cook their rations. On a level place upon the bank bounded by trees and carpeted by wild flowers and grass was the Grand Guard Parade, which was generally enlivened by the music of the full band, and in which Roques played a leading part. It was not until about Christmas, one week after his discharge from the army, that the Stone Barracks half completed and uncomfortable were occupied by the soldiers. Tradition preserves the fact that on the 8th of January a splendid ball was given in an unfinished barracks when there was a display of flags and hundreds of bright muskets with a candle in the muzzle of each. An old army officer records that many from Saint Louis were there, and Louisville too had serveral beautiful representatives. Mr. Roques lingered about the part for some time, ever ready whenever his musical services were in requisition.

Roques' army life had been most eventful and illustrates the experience of the soldiers during the early half of the century. He enlisted as a drummer at the age of 12 years, at the same time as his father, who came over with Lafayette, and served in our Revolutionary War. This was in Cincinnati in 1798. These regiments were afterward disbanded and when troops were again raised to settle the troubles incident to the establishments of boundary lines, and Roques was again a soldier. He served through all these trying times and in the war os 1812, and finally went as a drum major to the war of Mexico. Before his departure he wrote the following concise narrative of his life in the old army, which the document was left with his sons, one of whom still resides in Saint Louis. The statement will be read with interest by the students of our early war history in the southern department, from it's casual mention of well known incidents, as well as showing the arduous duties and incesant changes from post to post that devolved on our little army. Its operations embrace the period both preceding and subsequent to the transfer of the country from the French to the United States.

John Roques Narrative

At the age of 12 years I enlisted at Fort Washington, Cincinnati, under Captian Bartholomew Shamburgh, on the 20th of June, 1798. My father enlisted again at the same time. By order of General James Wilkinson, who was in command, we were sent to take possession of the lower country, as low down as the Ellicotts line. We landed first at Chichasaw Bluffs and took possession in July. From here we went to Walnut Hills (now Vicksburg). The Spanish commander was Captain Vadill, who surrendered the fort to General Wilkinson, in that latter part of July or first of August. We nect proceeded to Natchz and took prossession. From there we went to Loftus Heights (since called Fort Adams) where my brother and myself were transferred to a company of artillery commanded by Captain Geo. Demlar, who shortly afterward committed suicide by cutting his throat. His successor in the command was Captain James Sterritt, who soon after was appointed postmaster, when Captain John W. Livingston took command. This was in the year 1801, when Captian James S. Sterritt having resigned the paymastership returned to the command of the company. We still continued stationed at Fort Adams, when on the 20th of June 1803 I was taken from the company and attached to General Wilkinson's military band. In the same year we were ordered to take possession of New Orleans. It was in October when we landed at Willow Grove, about three miles from New Orleans, and there awaited Governor Claiborne and the militia. On November 19th, 1803, we marched into the city, when Daniel Clark carried our colors at the head of the music, and I assisted in hauling down the French flag and in hoisting the American colors. General Wilkinson with his band and a company of artillery were gathered at Fort Charles, where we remained in the garrison until 1805, when we were ordered to Camp Claiborne, on the other side of the bayou St. John. From there we were ordered back to New Orleans, and there remained until October 1805, and on the 11th the general band received orders to remove to St. Louis, Missouri, then known as Upper Louisiana. We landed in St. Louis on December 26th, 1805, and in the spring of 1806 were ordered to Bellefountain, where we were transferred to the first regiment, commanded by Colonel Jacob Kingsbury, and in the same year received orders to go to the Sabine, on Red River, with orders to drive away the Spaniards, commanded by Govenor Salsado, which having done we were ordered to Fort Claiborne, and thence to New Orleans, where we remained during 1806, until we took four of Aaron Burr's officers prisioner, when General Wilkinson with Colonel Cushing was ordered on to Washington and our band was transferred to the Second Regiment, commanded by Colonel Kingsbury. In the early part of 1807, the regiment was ordered to Fort Adams and from there to the Columbian Spring, 5 miles back of Fort Adams, where it remained until the return of Gen. Wilkinson and Col. Cushing. The latter took command when we were ordered to Washington, six miles from Natchez, and from thence to Popular Grove in the year 1809 and 1810 and remained there till 1811, when we were sent to Fort Slater on the Mobile River, and from there to Mount Vernon where we built a cantonement and remained till 1812. Then Gen. Wilkinson came on, took the band and two companies of the second regiment to New Orleans. We remained there till1812, when we were ordered to take possession of Mobile, then in command of Capt. Paris, who upon being summond delivered up the place to Gen Wilkinson, and we marched in and taking down the Spanish flag, hoisted the American colors.

Battle of New Orleans

We were ordered across Mobile Bay to the Prasidis where Gen. Wilkinson received orders to go on to the north, and the band was then transferred to the 7th regiment of infantry commanded by Col. Gibson. In the spring of 1814 we were ordered to Pass Christian, under command of Gen. Flournoy, when Gen. Andrew Jackson assumed command. We were then sent to Chafuaca, the regiment being under command of Major John Hicks, and there we remained until about December 1, 1814, when we were ordered to New Orleans. Col. Peer took command of the 7th regiment and we were ordered be Gen. Jackson to the battle ground. The schonner Caroline commanded by Capt. Patterson anchored near the levee, about the center of the Bristish line, and opened fire upon the English, when a ball carried off the leds of a Brisith officer. The action thereupon commenced in the open field, between the Americans under Gen. Jackson and the English. In the engagement the 3rd regiment had thirteen killed and one wounded. An officer named Lieut. Leach carried our blue silk flag and received a wound in the abdomen and while falling I took the flag out of his hand and handed it to one of my musicians and assisted the wounded lieutenant in getting the doctor. In lifting him up I was wounded in my left leg. While the doctor was dressing his wound, the blood ran down and filled my shoe, and I pulled it off and empited the blood in the presence of Gen Jackson and the General remarked to the Doctor that he should examine my wound, which he did and cut the bullet out of my leg. I then returned to my regiment and remained with it till the action of that night was over. On the morning of the 24th we started to the saw mill trace, where we threw up our breastworks and there remained until the 8th of January, 1815, when the English mustered up the forces and came against us. When we had the final engagement, we remained until the public property was removed and peace proclaimed. When we were discharged in April, 1815, we again enlsited and were ordered on to Pass Christian, under command of Major John Hicks of the 7th regiment at the same time the second, third and 44th regiments were all send to Pass Christian, where there was one regiment picked out of the four and the balance disbanded. The new regiment was called the first regiment of infantry, commanded by Col. Croghams. We were ordered to New Orleans, where we buried our colonel, Col. Ball. We were next ordered to Baton Rouge, where we were under command of Col. Taylor and Col. Chambers. I remained in the army of the United States until the 19th of December, 1827, which I received my last discharge at Jefferson Barracks, MO, then under command of Gen. Atkinson.

The above concludes Mr. Roques' narrative.

The following additional particulars of his eventful life are added by his son. After his discharge at Jefferson Barracks, he moved to Carondelet, and from there to Jefferson County, where he lived with his family for several years. About the year 1830 he moved to Saint Louis and was known as the leader of the best band of drum musicians in the streets of the city and was leader of his famous drum corps. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, still loving the profession of a soldier, he at once again volunteered and was mustered into the United States service at Camp Lucas. The volunteers were dressed in grey jeans and marched aboard the steam Sultana, in command of Col. R. Ruston, bound for New Orleans. After the arrival at Camp Algiers he was appointed drum major of this regiment, ordered to Port Isabal, and from there to Bureta and the Rip Grande, and then the regiment was ordered home and discharged in Saint Louis. From St. Louis he moved to Jefferson County, Missouri, where he died at the home of his eldest son on December 31st, 1857, having spent the flower of his days in the service of his country, and never having received one cent as a gratuity from the Government. of the United States. Even after his return from the Mexican War he was seen marching at the head of the band especially in the funeral prosession of some officers. Capt. Spere and Guibor remember him marching bent form almost doubled up, some ten paces in advance of the muscians. But the time of the old drummer had come and the last taps were sounded over his remains as they were borned to their last resting place in the cemetery at House Springs, Missouri, on the Rock Road to Hillsboro, 27 Miles from Saint Louis.

Why Here?

Alot of people have asked me, "Why did you choose this neighborhood?", or "Whats so special about Carondelet, and not these other culture rich areas of the city?"

Well, I believe, that these neighborhoods in Saint Louis all share a rich, fascinating history. Each is unique and tells its own individual tales of the past. I guess one reason of why I am drawn here, to Carondelet, is the fact that this is the first town in Missouri that the Roques family resided in.

Also, because Carondelet was not incorporated into Saint Louis City until the 1870's, there is alot more history here. Where we came from. Our stony bluff roots. The bluffs are in the buildings, the buildings are still standing. To me, this is different from downtown, original Saint Louis. This is where the city has sold itself to progress and has torn out the soul of the old town.
Turned its back to the river that once provided all life....

The Missouri Historical Socitey was kind enough to send me a typed Narrative of my ancestor, John Roques, who lived in here, and it explains his journies through the military and his time in Carondelet, Saint Louis, New Orleans, Mobile and Carondelet.

Though very fuzzy and hard to read, it provides some very interesting details into his life, and in all honesty, helps me discover more of who I am. John was a drum major and was the leader of the first band Saint Louis ever had. Ironically, I play music in Saint Louis today. A family joke throughout the years was about where I had gotten my musical ability from. My mom plays a little guitar, my grandparents are farmers.

Bloodlines still run deep, I guess.

Carondelet German Street Names

Even though Carondelet was founded with a primarily French-Creole population,
the waves of German immigrants left their mark on the city.
Here are some of the German street names that still exists today:

Eichelberger Street (E-W):
Originally named in an early platting of the Carondelet Commons in honor of Doctor George F. Eichelberger, a member of Carondelet's first city council. From Morganford Road to the River des Peres, it was Clark Road until 1881. (Marquette-Cherokee) (Oak Hill) (Southwest)

Espenschied Street (E-W):
Named for the Espenschied family, early German settlers in Carondelet who were famous as manufacturers of high quality covered wagons used to carry settlers to California. (Carondelet)

Germania Street (E-W):
Originally platted in the 1904 Helena Subdivision at 7300 Gravois, extending one block to Helvetia Street. Its location now is as an eastward extension along the north side of the River Des Peres Drainage Works from Gravois Avenue to Alabama Street. The name is a classical personality reference to the German nation. (Carondelet) (Morganford)

Koeln Street (E W):
Called V Street in early Carondelet and christened Vine Street in 1854 by city ordinance. It was renamed in 1882 to honor Christian Koeln, a Carondelet merchant who operated a general store at Main and Taylor streets after 1850. West of Virginia Avenue, it was originally Kirk Street. (Carondelet) (Morganford)

Nagel Avenue (E-W):
At first this was S Street, but it was renamed St. Louis Street in 1854. In 1881, it became Nagel Street to recognize Herman Nagel, a Carondelet hat merchant. (Carondelet) (Southwest)

Rauss Street (E-W):
Named O Street in old Carondelet and Olive Street in 1854. In 1881, its appellation was changed to honor John Krauss, a business man, tavern owner and director of the Home Mutual Insurance Company. (Carondelet)

Schirmer Street (E-W):
Named for Charles Schirmer, who was elected as a councilman from the Third Ward in the first Carondelet city election on April 9, 1851. This name was applied to that section of street between the wharf and Ivory Avenue. From Ivory west to Grand Avenue, this street bore the name of Menkens Street until 1881, when it was changed to Schirmer. (*Carondelet) (Morganford)

Steins Street (E-W):
Called Steins Street between the wharf and Michigan Avenue to honor Jacob Steins, an early German settler of Carondelet. He arrived in 1846 and in the ensuing years was influential in causing many Germans to settle in a section that came to be known as Stein's Town. From Michigan to Grand Avenue, Steins Street was known as Heavens Street until 1881. (Carondelet) (Morganford)

Source

Clipping from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Dec. 23rd 1881

CARONDELET JOTTINGS.
-----------------------------

About 2 o’clock this morning Officer Eckert, who patrols the beat along Main, near Randolph street, Carondelet, was attracted to Main and Taylor streets by three calls from a police whistle, blown by ex-officer O’Connor. The cause of the disturbance was that Mr. O’Connor had discovered a man under his bed with three new plush caps in his possession. Officer Eckert took him to the station, where he gave his name as John O’Reilly. He was arraigned in the police court this morning and sent to the Work House on a $100 fine.

Officer Earl is disconsolate this morning over an arrest that he failed to make last night, and Bill Jones, a notorious crook is accordingly jubilant. Jones visited George Ziegel’s saloon on Main and Randolph streets about eleven o’clock last night. When Ziegel wanted to close up a few minutes later, Jones made his exit though the back door and carried with him Ziegel’s coat, which contained a revolver and $20 in silver, Ziegel notified the police, and in company with Officer Earl visited a notorious dive in hope of finding their man. When Earl and Ziegel entered, Jones, who was present, immediately bid the company good-night. Ziegel nudged the officer and whispered that was their man. Earl gave a curse and fired three times at the fugitive to the imminent danger of the City Marshal and a few other police who happened in the neighborhood. Jones made good his escape and has not been heard from since. The escape was altogether due to Ziegel’s tardiness in recognizing the theif and giving him a good start.

Jacob Steins House

Photo by Jennifer Roques, 2009

Jacob Steins House - Circa 184o's

While out walking around the neighborhood to take photos I made sure to walk down to Jacob Steins old home. The house is settled on a rise overlooking the river and within easy access to the bank. It's neighbors are an old abandoned industry building, Frenchies Auto Parts (Settled nicely between two extremely old farm houses), and a few old row house apartment buildings.

I took my photo and started to walk back when I was approached by a man and he asked me "Why are you taking pictures of that house?"

I told him about my love of the neighborhood and history and how I had read about this house.

"Well, Wanna see the inside? I fixed it all up!" He smiled.

His name is Al, and he lives in the Jacob Stein house and has for years.

He is also the owner of Frenchies Auto parts, and is the landlord for the apartments on the street, (which ALL of them are rented out, he informs me).

Inside the house is comfy and Al's TV has a basketball game on.

He shows us around and tells of all the renovations he has made and points out old photos of his family. The kitchen cabinets are about 40 years old, but don't look a day over year. He has put a lot of time and work into cleaning the place up. He shows us a photo of Mr. Jacob Stein that the Carondelet Historical Society has given him. Mr. Stein is a portly man in a button down vest and jacket, perched on a chair and holding his walkin stick.

Al then takes us up stairs and is excited to show us the beautifully redone woodwork and steps(all done by him). The second floor is also nicely redone with the dormers back open and in working condition. He tells us of a fire that happened in the building during the 1950's. When he went to renovate the roof all the damage that had happened became apparent. "They are lucky this place didn't fall down on them!" He states. As we go around to each dormer, Al points out each different factory along the riverfront and tells me what they do, as well as how to get down to river from the railroad tracks.

Jacob Stein was an important citizen to Carondelet. He served as an immigration agent and built "Steins Row" (1840) which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. His home also served as the Immigration Office. Thousands and thousands of German immigrants passed through his office after docking at the old stone pier that is still at the Mississippi today.

With all this traffic, I'm sure that travellers needed some rest and spirits, so they opened a bar in the back of the home as early as 1850. Al took us to the bar which has had many additions throughout the years. Yet the original bar remains. With a slightly non-proportionate S-shape to it, the bar has a lot of space. The back was accessible from the back of the home, and a mud porch connected the two structures. While Al was doing some renovations he knocked down a wall to reveal, not one, but two other entries from the house into the bar back. The original yellow painted paneling still surrounded the door frames. "They must've done some business!"

Al was happy to share with us his hard work of restoring this house. I'm glad he did, the inside is beautiful and one can tell the amount of care that was put into it.

He also informed me that he is selling his auto parts business and his apartments, I'm not too sure when this is going to happen, or what will happen to them.

Jacob Steins House - At the intersection of Steins St and Reilly Ave

History Summary:

In 1843, Jacob Stein, a German immigrant agent, acquired a lot at the southeast corner of Steins and Reilly Streets. He was so impressed by the opportunities in Carondelet that he persuaded many other Rhineland Germans to come there. Some of them later became prominent in the life of the community and gave their names to streets in what came to be known as Stein´s Town, south of old Vide Poche. These names exist today on Krauss, Schirmer, Koeln, Nagel, Espenschied and other streets in the area.
The small stone houses that can still be seen in this section of Carondelet are reminiscent of these German settlers. Many of them started small factories which spread in later years to create a highly industrialized part of the town.
Stein resided in the house at Steins and Reilly in the period before the Civil War. Examples of other limestone houses built by German immigrants during the 1840s and 1850s can be seen on Stein´s Street, west of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Source

The History Around Us

Vide Poche - Empty Pockets -
The old town of Carondelet,
The Bermuda Trianlge of Saint Louis.

Life buzzes by us at a faster pace each day.
We are constantly trying to play catch up or to
figure out where we are.

Interstates have cut through neighborhoods,
splitting the city and communities. Leaving on one side,
a remant of what was, and the other completely cut off.

Preservation in this town had an unfortunate kick to the gut.
In a time when a generation should have been keeping what could help the future ones, it was paid to tear them down. Kick the old hand made bricks to the ground, and build monuments to money.

I guess we all have questions on why we desire to go back in time...
To meet our relatives? Where we came from? If we discover our heritage will it help us better discover ourselves? To better appreciate what we have now? The fact that our old kin had worked themselves to the bone to get what we have in a seconds time?

Well, this is my attempt to collect, share, love, and distribute lost and old information, because ee truly cannot go forward, unless we look back...

Vide Poche - Empty Pockets

Carondelet was founded in 1767 by Clement DeLore de Treget, just a little ways north of a temporary settlement made by Catholic Missionaries at the mouth of the River des Peres in 1702. He built his home at the base of what is now Elwood Street near the river, but above the flood stage. A park now rests just beyond where the house once stood. DeLore was born in Quercy, France, and was a former French naval officer, and was apparently appointed syndic or representative by the Spanish government. This allowed him to sell or grant lots to settlers.

He was soon joined by other Frenchmen from nearby Cahokia across the river. This French Creole beginning would affect Carondelet well into the 1840s. DeLore laid out the Commonfields in an area that stretched from present day Virgina Ave in the east to Morgansford Road in the west and from Lafayette in the south to Meramac Street in the north. More Commons area was laid out to the south for grazing, stretching as far as River de Peres. This commons was expanded by Lt. Governor Zenon Trudeau to stretch to a mile beyond what is now Jefferson Barracks in 1796. The intial lots in the village its self were 150 feet square with four lots forming a 300 square foot block. This was as with other French settlements like New Orleans and Mobile.

Carondelet was originally called Louisburg in honour of King Louis XV of France, and then Prairie a Catalan, after one of the settlers, Louis Catalan. Finally in 1794, it was named Carondelet in honor of Baron Francois Louis Hector de Carondelet, a Fleming appointed the Spanish governor of Louisiana. It has bore other names as well. In its early days it was refered to as Delor's Village, and Vide Poche which means "empty pocket." Judge Wilson Primm suggested this was due to the Carondelet citizens skill at gambling. They would send their Saint Louis neighbors home with empty pockets.

The village proper originally laid south from Bellerive Park towards the River des Peres, and east from present day Broadway to the edge of the bluffs. The Spanish census of 1796 showed Carondelet to have 181 citizens. By 1850, Carondelet had a population of 1,265. On August 27, 1832 Carondelet was incorporated as a town by the County Court. Its town hall was at Bowen Street and Broadway with a large elm as a meeting tree in the yard. The first trustees were Eugene Leitensdorfer, Louis Fassenor, Auguste Stube, Louis Guion, and Joseph Chatillion. On March 1, 1851, Carondelet was incorporated by an act of the State Legislature as a city. The papers of incorporation decreed the area of the town to be from "Cave Spring" to what is now Michigan Ave, then south for 2,640 yards and east to the Mississippi. The first mayor was Dr. William Taussig, a Bohemian immigrant and medical doctor. In 1862, the city offices were moved to the southeast corner of Broadway and Loughborough.

In 1819, the first church was built and named, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph of the Angels. The altar and pews had been purchased at an auction in Saint Louis. They came from the log church that had stood where the Old Cathedral stands now. In 1859, the parish was renamed simply St. Mary and St. Joseph. Saint Mary and Saint Joesph's now stands in the same area.

On July 8, 1826 1,702 acres of the Commons were sold to the United States government for five dollars. This was to become Jefferson Barracks, although it was initally called Cantonment Adams in honour of then president John Qunicy Adams. By 1829, five hundred troops were stationed there, and it served as a training school for infantry recruits. They lived in tents until 1837 when the buildings were finally completed. Eventually, a hospital would be constructed there as well as many other facilities.

In 1836, at the invitation of Bishop Rosati, the Convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph came to Carondelet. The order had been founded in Le Puy, France, by a Jesuit priest in 1647. The order had been disbanded with the persecution of Catholics that followed the French Revolution, but reformed in 1807. Upon arrival, the nuns quickly set about educating the children of Carondelet. Initally only four sisters were working out of a small log cabin. Yet, by September, 1837 with the arrival of two more nuns that had stayed behind in France to learn sign language, they had founded the Saint Joseph Insitute for the Deaf. The order, at one time disbanded, saw its true rebirth in Carondelet, and has since spread all over the United States and to other countries.

Well into the 1840s, French Creole was the prefered language of Carondelet, and French customs prevailed. The citizens of Carondelet were characterized as lazy and uneducated. They made their living by selling food and firewood to St. Louis. By the late 1840s this began to change. Jacob Steins, a German immigrant acquired land south of the old French settlement in 1846. He built a home at what is now the corner of Steins and Rielly, and began encouraging other Germans to move to Carondelet. Initally, the Germans worked in the limestone quarries on the bluffs, and used this same stone to build their homes (quite a few of which still survive). By 1850, almost half of Carondelet consisted of Germans. The city council in 1851 authorized the publication of the city ordiances in English and German. More newcomers would follow in 1849 when a cholera epidemic and the great fire of St. Louis would force some wealthy citizens to flee the city for Carondelet. Judge Wilson Primm moved to what is now 6220 Michigan on what was the outskirts of Carondelet. Henry T. Blow had moved two years earlier to west of what is now Virginia Avenue. Blow, even though a Virginian, helped fund Dred Scott's lawyers in his effort to obtain freedom in 1848. Taylor Blow (Henry's brother), whose family had owned Dred prior to Irene Emerson, eventually bought him his freedom.

In 1855, the railroad came to Carondelet as tracks were laid between Carondelet and the Arsenal. Full railroad service started in 1858, with extensive machine shops being built in Carondelet in 1859. The St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad ran iron ore to the iron works in Carondelet and was a major boom to the small city. Extensive passenger service also took place between Carondelet, Kirkwood, and Saint Louis. It was at this time soldier turned farmer Ulysses S. Grant delivered firewood to the wealthier Carondelet residents. Grant, trained in engineering at West Point applied for a position as superintendant of county roads. Dr. Taussig of Carondelet who was on the county court rejected his application on the grounds Grant had married into a slave holding family. Carondelet was growing rapidly as young men like Louis G. Picot moved in and built homes. Picot's home located southeast of the Sisters of Saint Joesph was a small castle with a four story tower.

On the eve of the the Civil War, Carondelet like the rest of the State had divided sympathies. The 1859 election for mayor was a heated one and that year the Republicans were elected to all of the city offices but two. Once the war began, many southern sympathizers joined the Confederate Army. The German settlers however, were decidedly pro-Union and lead by Henry T. Blow, who would become a Congressman, and serve as Lincoln's minister to Venezeuela. After the war, President Grant made him minister to Brazil. Three Union companies were formed in the area of Carondelet, and one Conferderate lead by Captain James S. Loughborough and Col. John S. Bowen. Col. John S. Bowen (later General) designed the defences of Vicksburg that allowed that city to hold out so long. The defenses were eventually overwhelmed by armies commanded by Carondelet's wood hauler, General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant stated in his memoirs at the time of the surender regarding Bowen, "I had been a neighbor of Bowen's in Missouri, and knew him well and favorably before the war." Bowen died not long after Vicksburg of dysentery, after having refused Grant's offer of assistance from the Union Medical Corps.

Castle builder Picot fled to Canada to avoid giving a loyalty oath to the Union. Union forces then seized a hotel he was building in Saint Louis, and tried to seize the castle two months later. Henry T. Blow interceded on Picot's wife's behalf however, and she was allowed to stay. Primus Emerson of Carondelet Marine Railway went to Mempsis where he built the ironclad the Arkansas for the Confederate navy. He returned to Carondelet to operate the Carondelet Marine Railway and Dock Company. It went on to build five riverboats, but then burned in May, 1866.

Union ironclads were built at Carondelet. James Eads leased the Carondelet Marine Railway Company (at the foot of Davis Street, near the mouth of the River des Peres). It was then known as Eads' Union Marine Works or the Union Iron-Works or simply Marine Railway. It built the following Cario class ships; "Baron De Kalb" (originally the "St. Louis", but renamed as another ship already bore the name), "Carondelet", "Louisville" and the "Pittsburgh." Also built by Eads at Carondelet were the following ironclads and river monitors; "Fort Henry", "Essex", Neosho, "Osage", "Choctaw", "Winnebago", "Milwaukee", and the "Chickasaw". Many of these vessels saw important action. The Carondelet was principal in action at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Vicksburg. Eads' company is still in operation as the St. Louis Ship-Federal Barge, Inc, one of the largest barge builders in the world. Eads also designed and built the Eads Bridge. As the bridge was being built, it stirred much controversy, and efforts were made to stop its construction. These stopped when Dr. Taussig and Eads traveled to Washington and talked to President Grant in 1873. Grant, not bitter over Taussig costing him a job as a county engineer, and remembering Eads' gunboats ensured the bridge was finished.

The war however did not stop Carondelet's slow growth. In 1865 the population of Carondelet was 4,534. Despite this growth, in April, 1870, by act of the State Legislature, Carondelet was annexed to the City of St. Louis. The city council held its last meeting on Monday, April 4, 1870. The citizens of Carondelet had little say in the matter, and there was much resentment on the part of some of the citizens of Carondelet. Never the less, Carondelet initially benefited from being absorbed by its larger sister. The St. Louis park and library system came to Carondelet. Carondelet Park was opened on July 4, 1876. Its land was once part of the Carondelet Commons.

New schools were built as well. And in September, 1873, Susan Blow, daughter of Henry Blow, founded the first continuous public school kindergarten in the United States. She had studied the idea in Germany, where it had been developed by Friedrich Frobel. Upon her return, she convinced St. Louis Public School Superintendant Dr. William Torrey Harris to allow her to experiment with the idea of a kindergarten at the Des Peres School in Carondelet. The school building is now the home of the Carondelet Historical Society. By 1881, every public school in St. Louis had a kindergarten class. Eventually, the idea would spread across the United States, and by 1900 200,000 children were in public kindergartens.

In July, 1877, Carondelet with the rest of St. Louis became a part of a major labor crisis. Wage cuts by the railroads led to a massive strike by local workers across the nation. Carondelet as the iron working capital of the region became central to the strike. Carondelet iron workers marched on Olive Blvd. and seized quantities of zinc, iron, and steel in Carondelet. Carondelet businessmen formed a safety committee in reaction, but with mostly iron workers in attendance, the committee was made of mostly of strikers and a few businessmen like Charles Chouteau of the Vulcan Iron Works. The whole affair ended peacefully without the riots of other cities.

The next 20 years were prosperous ones for Carondelet. The Carondelet branch of the St. Louis Library opened in 1884, and new business buildings were being built. The iron works prospered as well. New homes of the Romanesque style were being bult along Michigan, Virginia, and Vermont Streets in the '90s. Electic streetcars were added as well, making the ride from Carondelet to downtown St. Louis in about twenty minutes.

The new century brought more improvements to Carondelet. John Scullin argued for Carondelet to be the site of the 1903 World's Fair, but lost as the fair committee felt that Forest Park would be the better site. In 1908, the present library building was completed. And Bellerive Park was completed at the same time with its view over the Mississippi River. Saint Anthony's Church was built in 1910 with its twin steeples making an obvious landmark. Other churches built in the area at the time were St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Michigan Ave and the Carondelet Christian Church. Adolphus and August Busch built many taverns on the old Carondelet Commons, and theses unique buildings added character to the neighborhood. It was a time of rapid growth when the Carondelet Commons was quickly filling with houses, churches, and businesses.

On April 6, 1917 the United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I. A good number of men from Carondelet served, many of them only second generation German Americans. With the end of the war, growth continued in Carondelet. The Woodward School was completed in 1921, and houses were going up on Bellerive Ave. The Kingshighway Methodist Church was completed in 1925. St. Cecilia Parish built a new church in 1926 with beautiful Romanesque exterior with twin steeples, and a nearly Gothic interior. In 1926, the present YMCA building was constructed. From 1919 until 1925, the Carondelet YMCA had been meeting in storefronts. Also during this time, Holly Hills subdivision was laid out, and the first building permit issued in 1926. This area continues to be one of the most beautiful in Carondelet.

The Great Depression hit Carondelet gradually. Many of its businesses survived for a while after the stock market crash. Enventually, many of them closed. Even still many businesses held on. South Broadway had always been the primary business street, and was home to dime stores, diners, and candy shops. Barter replaced money as a means of transactions during this time with business owners trading goods and services. The WPA stabilized the banks of the River de Peres at this time. The small creek had been a nuisance flooding often and being a general health hazard. Also formed around this time was the Spanish Society, a meeting place for Spanish residents of Carondelet to play cards and talk. World War II ended the depression for Carondelet as factories were hiring for steel workers, sewing machine operators, and the assembly lines. Over 300 men from Carondelet served in the war. After it was over, the Carondelet area still experienced growth. The area south of Carondelet Park began to see development, and to the west of it. Harry Keough, a Carondelet native went on to win fame with soccer's 1950 World Cup competition. Keough captained the American team which knocked the favorite English team out of the play offs. And in 1953, Raymond Tucker of Carondelet was elected mayor of St. Louis.

In the 1960s, Interstate 55 was built through Carondelet. Its construction severed old Carondelet from many of the newer sections, and the area east of the Interstate went into gradual decline. This decline has continued, although it has never seen the decay that other parts of the city have. In the last few years, some recovery has been made. Many of the old houses in the older section are being refurbished, and while businesses have not returned to South Broadway, with time and effort, perhaps they will. The Carondelet Historical Society was founded in 1966 and has managed to keep most of Carondelet's history alive. In 1981 the Historical Society bought the Des Peres School and turned it into a historical center complete with a restoration of Susan Blow's 1873 classroom. The Carondelet Community Betterment Federation was founded in 1973 and has aided the elderly in maintianing their homes. And in 1985 the South Broadway Merchants Association opened with the goal of attracting new businesses. Carondelet begins the 21st Century with about 11,000 citizens and one of the lowest crime rates in the city. It has a very small town feel, and is beginning to be seen as a favoured place to live.

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