Council may rename Courthouse Park after black Union soldier, wife who were slaves

Cape Girardeau's historic Courthouse Park may soon be known as Ivers Square, in honor of a Cape Girardeau slave, who enlisted in the Union Army in the Civil War, and his wife.

The city council will vote today on renaming the park in honor of James and Harriet Ivers as recommended by the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission.

Steven Hoffman, a history professor and coordinator of the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University, voiced support for the move.

So, too, has Ward 6 Councilman Wayne Bowen, who chairs the school's history department.

Hoffman wrote in a letter to the council he and Bowen were concerned about "the lack of a memorial or public recognition of the contributions of African Americans to the growth and development of Cape Girardeau."

Hoffman said communities across the nation have been having "complicated discussions" about Confederate memorials, such as the one at Courthouse Park.

"Rather than seeking to scrub unpleasant facts from our history, as some communities appear to be doing, we wanted to foster public discussion and recognition of this very complicated history," he wrote.

"Naming the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds Ivers Square will help us recognize the important contributions of an under-recognized group in Cape Girardeau's history and honor the strength and courage of the wide range of individuals who helped make Cape Girardeau the community it is today," Hoffman wrote.

"James Ivers' journey from slavery to freedom began when he walked through the doors of the Common Pleas Courthouse and enlisted in the Union Army," Hoffman said. "Born a slave, Ivers died a free man serving his country, and his widow ultimately received a pension, purchased property in the city and raised their children."

The Iverses' experiences represent the "courage and sacrifice" of Cape Girardeau's black community, he said.

Hoffman said it is fitting to name Courthouse Park in honor of the Ivers.

In his letter, Hoffman wrote the courthouse is "perhaps our most iconic and important historic landmark."

It is a place where "slaves were sold on the courthouse steps," he said. But it also served as "a doorway to freedom for enslaved individuals who took destiny in their own hands to enlist in a war that would ultimately bring an end to slavery."

Some cities have removed Confederate memorials from their parks. But Bowen and Hoffman said in interviews Friday they do not favor removing the Confederate memorial from the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds.

The Confederate memorial is near the Union-soldier-topped Courthouse Park fountain.

Hoffman said the Confederate memorial dates to 1931. It originally stood near the old Mississippi River bridge but was moved to Courthouse Park in 1995.

Hoffman and Bowen said renaming the grounds as Ivers Square would help draw attention to the contributions of the black community.

"It is not about changing history," Bowen said. "It is about enriching it, broadening it.

"It is also honoring a veteran," he said. "I think it is something to build on to broaden our sense of community."

Hoffman said he and Bowen learned about the Ivers from Denise Lincoln, who had researched Cape Girardeau's black Union soldiers.

According to Lincoln's research, more than 200 blacks enrolled in the Union Army at Cape Girardeau from June 1863 to June 1864.

James Ivers enlisted on June 18, 1863.

Ivers took his slave owner's surname when he enlisted, but he had been known simply as "Smith" or "Jim" most of his life, Lincoln wrote.

James Ivers married Harriet, who also was a slave, in 1853.

They had to live apart until John Ivers, the slave owner, purchased her and the couple's three children two years later.

After enlisting in the Union Army, James Ivers was assigned to the 3rd Arkansas Volunteer Infantry of African Descent, later the 56th United States Colored Infantry.

He was stationed in Helena, Arkansas, where he unloaded government supplies from steamers. He fell ill. He died Oct. 1, 1863, in the regimental hospital from what military records called "consumption," Lincoln's research shows.

Harriet Ivers sought in September 1865 to receive a widow's pension from the federal war department's pension board. She finally was awarded a pension in February 1867 with the help of Cape Girardeau lawyers Jacob Burrough and Hamilton G. Wilson.

In 1876, she purchased a home at the southwest corner of Middle and Jefferson streets from James McClean, the son of a slaveholder who once owned her.

Harriet Ivers worked as a washerwoman in Cape Girardeau. She died in 1897 as a "pioneer woman of freedom," Lincoln wrote in her research document.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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