Skip to main content
May 17, 2018 is the 169th anniversary of the night of the Great Fire in St. Louis! When the first bells rang out on the levee that evening, the fire companies of St. Louis assembled and fought the most ferocious inferno that the city had ever seen. Considering the primitive equipment and infrastructure they had to work with, it is a wonder that the city didn't completely burn to the ground and hundreds of lives weren't lost. Like the men and women of today's municipal fire department, men liked Capt. Patrick Gorman, Fireman Fred Colburn, and Capt. Thomas Targee braved everything to save the lives and property of others. Remember them for their sacrifice and their selflessness.

If you wish to learn more please join me in May for two public appearances at the St. Charles County Library. On May 8, I will be speaking at the Kathryn Linnemann Branch and on May 16 at the Corporate Parkway Branch. Both programs start at 7 PM. Books will be available for purchase at the events. Check my author page amazon.com/author/cgordon for further details.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On March 13, I will be appearing at The Library Center in Springfield, Missouri. The presentation and book signing begins at 7 PM. Thank you Springfield-Greene County Library for hosting this event. Books will be available for purchase for $20. Cash only please. I look forward to seeing everyone in Springfield!
Post a Comment
Read more
Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Fire, Pestilence, and Death: St. Louis 1849! I am receiving a lot of great comments from those who have read it and the professional reviews have been good too! The St. Louis Post-Dispatch printed a good full review in the Sunday Edition, February 18. Here's the link to online version. http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/reviews/the-year-st-louis-went-through-hell-with-fire-disease/article_cb2a8e45-f95e-5428-902b-e98982edb825.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share Also, great review from Midwest Book Review which included a recommendation that it be included in all university and school libraries.
Post a Comment
Read more
     By March 1849, it was clear that the global cholera pandemic had reached St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley. Even though cold, wet weather was still hanging over the region, people were already on the move. Anxious '49ers eager to get to the California gold fields and trains of Oregon-bound families were starting to stream into the city. The river was up and the streets were a muddy mess. Fine conditions for cholera transmission. As the travelers rolled in, the number of cholera victims began to rise too.      This was just the beginning of what would become a public health nightmare for the St. Louis and the region. Soon the weather would warm up, even greater numbers of people would pass through, and the medical community had no clue as to the cause or cure of this devastating disease. The population was helpless and the only hope was that the victims would be strong enough to survive.      This story is but one chapter in string...
Post a Comment
Read more