Key Places

Charlottesville

Birthplace of John M. Wimer. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville was a small but cultured Virginia town — home to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the University of Virginia. It was here that Jacob Wimer practiced his trade as a blacksmith and raised the son who would one day lead a great American city.

St. Louis

The city that made Wimer and that Wimer helped build. By the 1850s, St. Louis was the eighth-largest city in America — a booming river port and gateway to the West. It was a city of immigrants and entrepreneurs, slaveholders and abolitionists, all crowded together on the banks of the Mississippi. Wimer served as its mayor twice and was beloved as "The Pride of the City."

Camp Jackson

A Missouri State Guard encampment in Lindell’s Grove on the western edge of St. Louis. In May 1861, Captain Nathaniel Lyon surrounded the camp with federal troops and forced its surrender. The march of prisoners through civilian crowds sparked a massacre that killed at least 28 people and ignited the Civil War in Missouri.

Gratiot Street Prison

A converted medical college in downtown St. Louis that served as a Union military prison. Wimer was held here after refusing the loyalty oath. Conditions were grim — overcrowding, disease, and the constant threat of summary justice. From Gratiot, he was transferred to the even harsher Alton Penitentiary across the river.

Hartville

A small town in Wright County in the Missouri Ozarks. On January 11, 1863, Confederate forces under General Marmaduke attacked the Union garrison here. The battle was fierce but inconclusive — the Confederates withdrew after heavy losses. John M. Wimer was killed during the fighting, far from the city he once governed.

Alton Penitentiary

A decommissioned state prison in Alton, Illinois, pressed back into service as a Union military prison during the Civil War. Notorious for its brutal conditions, overcrowding, and outbreaks of smallpox, Alton held thousands of Confederate prisoners. Wimer was transferred here from Gratiot Street Prison — and managed to escape, riding south to join the rebel cause.

Pocahontas

A town in northeastern Arkansas that served as a Confederate staging area and supply point during the war. After escaping Alton, Wimer made his way south through hostile territory to reach Confederate lines. Pocahontas and the surrounding region served as a base of operations for Missouri Confederates who had been driven from their home state.