The advent of civil war was a perilous time to be a state in the middle U.S. There were slave states with deep economic interests in that “peculiar institution,” and free states where slavery wasn’t legal. However, four slave states did not secede from the US in 1861: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. These states walked a tricky line, and it required political and sometimes military maneuvering to prevent their secession.
A sure thing became a near miss for Missouri. A statewide convention came together to consider secession. The participants were mostly Union-leaning and the final vote to remain was 98-1. As a result, Missouri became the only state to have called such a convention without leaving the Union. The idea was to maintain slavery (which it did until nearly the end of the war) while remaining in the Union and officially neutral in the matter of armed conflict.
Any hopes for Missouri’s actual neutrality in a Civil War, however, were quickly dashed. Governor, Claiborne Jackson refused Lincoln’s request to raise soldiers to resist the Confederacy. In fact, he called upon the Missouri Volunteer Militia to defend secessionist interests within the state.
Union Major General John C. Fremont declared martial law in Missouri, and ordered the seizure of property and slaves from disloyal state residents. It nearly tipped the state into the Confederate column. Lincoln removed Fremont from command and reversed the order.
Missouri faced a no-win task of figuring which side to support. Thousands of Germans of St. Louis were solidly pro-Union, while much of rural Missouri leaned Confederate. The state was further torn by guerrilla actions and a nasty border war between pro-Southern Missourians and pro-Union “Jayhawkers” from Kansas.
All of this is prelude to introducing Leo Rassieur (1844-1929; pronounced Rash’-er) a longtime resident of Lafayette Square. He deserves both a closer look and wider recognition.
A germanic wave rolls in
Leo was born in the Alsace region of Germany. His mother died when he was four years old, and he came with his father to St. Louis three years later. The move was part of a large scale German exodus in 1848. Social liberals attempting to create a more democratic order were disenfranchised following an unsuccessful revolution against the conservative aristocracy. Many became expatriate and gravitated to the American Midwest.
St. Louis was a hub for this immigration; rich with new opportunity. It was here that the most famous German exile, Carl Schurz (right), set down roots. Schurz became a Union general, newspaper editor, US Senator from Missouri, and member of the cabinet of President Hayes. He was an early resident of Lafayette Square, and a magnet for other emigres. In the decade of the 1850s, nearly one million Germans emigrated to the U.S. Leo and his father were two of them.
Early signs of a born leader
Leo Rassieur was bright and motivated, possessing an intense gaze that comes through in most photos of him. His father operated a cigar factory, and Leo worked with him as a child. He graduated Central High School in 1860, and made a significant speech to a much older crowd just one year later. In it, he forcefully advocated for pro-Union solidarity among German Americans in St. Louis. Leo Rassieur was all of 17 years old.
The occasion was a gathering at the St. George market house in South St. Louis. Its purpose was to formalize adoption of a neutrality resolution. Rassieur became convinced that the documents involved originated from pro-Southern politicians in Jefferson City. Adoption would have meant sidelining the German American community from Missouri’s ongoing secession debate. Leo protested and urged others to block adoption. He declared that although he was not yet the legal voting age of 21, he might still be called upon to serve the country during war. So he claimed the right to air his opinion concerning an issue related to the impending conflict.
When declared out of order, he exclaimed that those who believed in the Union cause should leave the market house and reassemble in front of it. There, a new meeting would convene and “action expressing the true sense of the German citizens be taken.”
The response to this was nearly unanimous, leaving only the chairmen and his seven committeemen in the market house hall. A young lawyer named Roderick Rombauer became chair of the new meeting. Leo took the role of secretary, perhaps to ensure that the wording of a resolution better suited its true intent. The net result was a document that unanimously pledged the assembled citizens to the Union cause.
The vital US Arsenal at St. Louis
Two months after that, Leo enlisted for a three month hitch in the Union army and was promoted to sergeant on his second day in service. St. Louis at that time worried over the future of its sizable U.S. arsenal. It contained 60,000 muskets, 90,000 pounds of powder, 1.5 million ball cartridges, and 40 pieces of artillery. Frank Blair for Union interests, and Governor Claiborne Jackson were both acutely interested in controlling the arsenal.
Rassieur’s newly formed company was fortunate to receive arms (from the sympathetic governor of Illinois) and uniforms. This enabled them to begin drilling immediately, while most assembled groups on both sides went into the fray later, largely untrained and with whatever gear they owned.
Busting up the party at Camp Jackson
The company had only been in camp 17 days when called by arsenal commander Captain (later General) Nathaniel Lyon to march on and capture Camp Jackson. Lyon received information that a shipment of Confederate artillery had arrived there, and decided to act. The camp was located on what is today part of the St. Louis University campus along Lindell Boulevard. The assembly was part of a yearly gathering at this site, consisting of about 800 members of the Missouri State Militia. Lyon, commander of the arsenal and an unconditional Unionist, suspected those bivouacked at Camp Jackson. He even visited the camp on the sly. Lyon reported finding secessionists galore, camp streets named for Confederates, and massed firearms.
The pugnacious Lyon was spoiling for a confrontation, and chose to make the nearest contrary thing a threat. As historian Francis Grirerson wrote, “The greatest national tragedies have always begun as a comedy.” Grierson depicted a poorly provisioned camp, nearly defenseless, and distracted by “the ladies, who came in hundreds with all the delicacies of the season.” It was to be a splendid little war, should it ever come.
Lyon shipped the arsenal guns across the river to Illinois, and marched 8,000 men to surround the camp, which wisely and immediately surrendered. The secessionists were both outnumbered and outgunned by Lyon’s forces, who sported new Springfield muskets. The size of the ball and charge of the 1861 version could kill or maim several men in the path of a shot. A joke of the time was that if the recoil of the gun didn’t unjoint a shoulder or break a rib it might have been a dud round.
An error in judgement turns deadly
Emotions ran hot as the federals marched Jackson’s men as captives, through the city back to the arsenal. Onlookers threw rocks and bottles, and a shot was fired, which unloosed a wave of gunfire. When the smoke cleared, 27 citizens, three militia and two federal troops lay dead. The entire action only served to polarize the citizenry of the city. St. Louis remained in Union control and Claiborne Jackson formed a government in exile. Localized skirmishes morphed into full scale battles at Boonville, Wilson’s Creek and Lexington. Over the course of the war, approximately 100,000 Missourians served in the Union and 40,000 in the Confederate armies.
After this dustup, Lyon’s men marched on and captured Jefferson City, then moved south where they melded into U.S Grant’s forces. Leo Rassieur was fortunate to have studied military tactics while working as a boy in his father’s cigar factory. When the company mustered in, the militarily untrained Captain Roderick Rombauer called for someone who could issue orders. Rassieur would softly say them to Rombauer who then shouted them. They became lifelong friends as a result.
By all accounts, Leo was a fairly magnetic leader, and rose easily within hierarchies. He reenlisted in the First Missouri Infantry in September 1861, for a three year term. Elected first lieutenant, he was discharged on account of illness in April 1862. He rejoined in August and was then named captain of Company K of the 30th Missouri Infantry. By late 1864, he had been commissioned major.
His Civil War experience was extensive. As captain, he was drill master at Benton Barracks near St. Charles Rock Road. He later served as commander of Fort Curtis in Helena, Arkansas, post adjutant at Vidalia, Louisiana, ordnance officer at Vicksburg, judge-advocate for Army of the Gulf 19th Corps and commander of Fort Tracy near Mobile. In June of 1865, he and his regiment even took part in action against Maximillian in Mexico. By this time, he was all of 21 years of age, and had iron gray hair from the experience.
Settling down in Lafayette Square
After the war, Leo Rassieur taught school and studied law under Lafayette Square resident Judge G.A. Finkelnburg. He was admitted to the bar in April 1867, and became a full partner in Finkelnburg’s firm. Mary Kammerer of West Virginia became his wife in 1872, and they raised three children. He was attorney for and member of the St. Louis School Board from 1880 through 1890.
The Rassieur family home at 2335 Whittemore Place was built for $15,000 in 1884. They lived there 46 years, through the balance of Leo’s life. He was in good company around Lafayette Square, as his partner from the market house incident, St. Louis Appeals Court Judge Roderick Rombauer lived nearby (1725 Mississippi Avenue). So did Mayor Henry Kiel (1625 Missouri Avenue) and Judge G.A. Finkelnburg (1843 Kennett Place.)
Sharing the popular German enthusiasm for physical fitness, Leo Rassieur was a longtime member of the St. Louis Gymnastic Society and president of the Western Rowing Club for 13 years. The latter was the largest and wealthiest organization of its kind in the West. It won the William J. Lemp plate so often that it was eventually ceded to the club to hang permanently on a wall. It also won the Tony Faust cup often enough that Faust created a second cup for runners-up. Both awards concerned the racing of six oared ‘barges’ on the Mississippi River.
Leading the vets into a new century
Leo joined the military fraternal Grand Army of the Republic, and was elected commander of the Department of Missouri in 1890. He became commander in chief of the national organization in 1900. The GAR was the largest group of Civil War veterans in America. Under his leadership, much was done to build and improve soldiers homes and create a pensioning system for veterans and their families.
Elected probate judge of the city court in 1894, he served through 1899, returning then to his general practice of law.
Taking the case to city hall
The great tornado that turned Lafayette Square on its head in May of 1896 left behind a shambles of the neighborhood. A full month later, unsatisfied with the city response to the situation, A six man delegation including Rassieur, Finkelnburg and E.S. Rowse of Lafayette Square paid a visit to the mayor’s office.
They protested the choked condition of alleys and streets, the failed state of fire hydrants, alarms and telegraph service, and health concerns. Electric lighting failed, garbage went uncollected, and a recent fire had to be reported by a messenger sent to Schnaider’s Garden, as all the other alarms were out of service. The mayor assembled his officials, who gave defensive accounts of their post-tornado activities. It did work to spur remedial activity in the area, as these were powerful citizens calling them to task.
A statue for Forest Park
In 1906, Leo Rassieur led a group that raised $12,000 for creation of the bronze Franz Sigel statue in Forest Park. Another German revolutionary forced to flee to America, Sigel was a teacher at the German Institute. He led a modest and unassuming teacher’s life, but possessed a military education, and found himself elected to lead the 3rd Missouri Infantry. Lincoln then promoted him to brigadier general.
He led Union forces at the battles of Pea Ridge and Wilson’s Creek. When Theodore Roosevelt visited St. Louis in 1903, he spoke at a fundraiser for the monument. Leading up to the unveiling, 300 Grand Army veterans marched behind mounted police and a military band. City Health Commissioner Dr. Max Starkloff, who fled Germany with Sigel in 1848 gave an address in German, as did Leo Rassieur in English.
The speech recalled those moments in 1861 when the course of war hung in the balance. He recounted how Missouri’s governor was sympathetic to the Southern states. The many naturalized St. Louisans of German birth had voted overwhelmingly for Lincoln in 1860.
Realizing the peril when South Carolina seceded and Fort Sumpter was taken, German turners began drilling in their gymnasium on 10th Street, at Tyrolean Hall, Reed’s Garden and other parts of South St. Louis. Four full regiments of 6,000 men joined the Union forces upon Lincoln’s call. Rassieur’s view was that Missouri remained in the Union due to the presence of these soldiers.
The first mention of the German House
Also in 1906, the firm of Rassieur, Schnurmacher and Rassieur held a meeting called by Judge Rassieur to discuss the purchase of ground and creation of a German theater. It was the first of many, and led finally to the building of the German House at Lafayette Avenue near Jefferson Avenue in 1923. This facility had a remarkable run over the following eight decades; chronicled in an earlier series of essays on this site.
Leo’s good friend Henry Kiel served three terms as mayor of St. Louis from 1913 through 1925. In fact, Judge Rassieur initially swore Kiel into office. He also took the lead on a Kiel priority; breaking up the fee-based monopoly that controlled both bridges over the MIssissippi River. This effort led to construction of the free MacArthur Bridge.
A new war and a call to action
Fifty-six years after his first big speech, Leo Rassieur gave another. He stood on the platform of the Coliseum on April 5, 1917, while America was considering a declaration of war against Germany. This time, he discussed a recent trip home to Prussia, and said he knew the German people didn’t want war. He portrayed an evil German military autocracy as having “debauched and misrepresented public opinion in Germany” and sought to do the same in America. The German military machine was built for destruction of neighboring countries and its encroachments rendered war a necessity. He declared that any other course “would make a weakling of this great nation.”
It had come full circle. A young German-American arguing to keep Missouri out of Confederate hands was now an old Geman-American, arguing that America needed to go fight Germany to save Europe. These were remarkable bookends to a remarkable career.
A good life, well lived
Leo Rassieur died on June 5, 1929 at the age of 85. This at a time when the average life expectancy in America was three decades shorter. He managed to pack a lot of life into his long run. The Globe-Democrat put it well in its editorial tribute of June 4, 1929.
So Major Rassieur came to the end of his days at 85, widely known and respected and loved. Education, professional ethics, government, both public and private, honesty, society, are richer for his residence among us.
His funeral, was held at the family home on Whittemore Place. There was so much floral tribute that it spilled onto both front and back porches. The funeral cortege was six blocks long. Burial at Bellefontaine was accompanied by a 21 gun salute and a trumpeter playing taps.
For the rest of us, a little postscript from The Modern View of June 7, 1929.
One single life like that of Major Rassieur is worth a ton of preaching. Men are moved to emulation more often by a good life than by exhortations.
There are a number of early St. Louisans well worth emulating. Many Germans involved in an exodus to the American Midwest saw it as an opportunity to do things better. They were willing to fight for a better system if necessary. They formed the strong industrial, educational and cultural backbone for a St. Louis which grew to be the fourth largest city in the Union by the turn of the 20th century.
Resources
Some good background on Missouri’s stance at the beginning of the Civil War is Missouri Rejects Secession by Jason Roe of the Kansas City Public Library https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/blog/missouri-rejects-secession
The best summary of events and characters leading up to the Camp Jackson fiasco may be that from incomparable historian Charles van Ravensway in St Louis: An Informal History of the City and its People, 1764 -1865; Missouri Historical Society; 1991.
Detail on Camp Jackson from The Civil War In Missouri, Missouri History Museum; 2011; http://www.civilwarmo.org/educators/resources/info-sheets/camp-jackson#
Reference to Carl Schurz as the most famous german emigre to Missouri from the Library of Congress at https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html
For more on Carl Schurz, an earlier essay of mine goes into his long and influential association with the press. http://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1857-1898-the-german-newspapermen/
More on the life and times of Mayor Henry Kiel, and his friendship with Rassieur at my earlier essay lafayettesquarearchives.com/1917-the-life-and-times-of-mayor-henry-kiel/
Account of visit by Leo Rassieur, Finkelnburg and Rowse to City Hall from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of June 24,1896; p7.
Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis; Vol IV Conant and Hyde; Southern History Co; 1899
The Book of St Louisans Edited by John W. Leonard. The St. Louis Republic; 1906.
The Book of Missourians ML Van Nada Editor; TJ Steele and Co.- 1906
Detail on the Rassieur home from Michael Boyd at https://www.archives-lafayettesquare.org/archive_files/pdf_files/7A_2019_115_d.pdf
The debut of the Sigel statue in Forest Park from St. Louis Globe-Democrat of June 24,1906
Detail on the early years of Leo Rassieur from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of December 24, 1895.
Extensive background on Rassieur and the Civil War from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of February 17,1918.
