The 1857 Election Day Riot in Augusta

by Bob Brail

On August 3, 1857, a special election was held in Missouri to fill the term of Missouri's governor Trusten Polk, who had resigned due to his recent election to the Senate. The Democrat candidate was Robert Stewart, who was for the Union but urged neutrality for Missouri. Stewart defeated Know-Nothing candidate James Rollins, the owner of more than thirty slaves who opposed both secession and any extension of slavery. The margin of victory in this very close election was less than half of one percent. Of the nearly one thousand votes cast in St. Charles County, almost sixty percent were cast for the loser, Rollins.

Peter H. Fulkerson, a thirty-seven year old slaveowner, was on his way home, apparently after voting in Augusta. He was attacked in the store owned by John Schroer on Augusta's riverfront by a group of about thirty German-Americans. Two of Fulkerson's ribs were broken in the assault. During the altercation, Fulkerson shot two of his assailants, John Schroer and George H. Tuepker, Jr. Both survived the shooting. Later that day Fulkerson gave himself up to Justice of the Peace James Bigelow, also a slave owner.

Several developments occurred over the next few days. The next day, August 4, a meeting of the Augusta Board of Trustees was called. During the meeting the board adopted the following resolution: “Whereas acts of violence against the laws of Missouri have been committed and the peace of the citizens of this town has been disturbed, be it ordained . . . that 50 dollars be appropriated for the employment of competent attorneys to prosecute the rioters and disturbers of the peaceat the proper courts.” (Two of the four board members who voted were allegedly part of the previous day's riot, Philip Benner and G. H. Mindrup. The board's fifth member, John F. Schroer, did not vote, possibly because the gunshot wound he received during the riot kept him from attending the meeting.) On the same day, subpoenas were issued to several men, either participants or witnesses to the riot (eventually approximately fifty individuals would be summoned). They were instructed to appear on August 8 for the preliminary hearing of Fulkerson's case.

News of the riot was reported just three days later in the county newspaper. The brief article in St. Charles' Das Demokrat on August 6 reported a “bloody election day scene” between Fulkerson and “several Germans.” The newspaper stated that several individuals had been wounded.

On Saturday, August 7, the state of Missouri brought charges against Peter Fulkerson, the State of Missouri vs. Peter H. Fulkerson, “for shooting John F. Schroer and George H. Tuepker, Jr., with intent to kill.” Justice of the Peace James Bigelow asked for change of venue since he was a witness on behalf of Fulkerson, who said he could not “safely proceed to trial without the testimony of [Bigelow].” This request was apparently made to another justice, Chiles E. Ferney, also a slave owner, who denied the change of venue.

Peter Fulkerson, however, would not be able attend the hearing on August 8. On that day, Dr. William Wilson appeared and stated that Fulkerson was not physically fit to stand trial due to injuries he had received during the riot. A new hearing date was set for August 24. Also on that day, $1,500 bond was posted for Peter Fulkerson, with Fulkerson providing $500, and another $500 each from G. H. Wallace and Isaac Fulkerson (either Peter Fulkerson's father or brother). The witnesses who had appeared in court that day were each paid the fifty cent witness fee and instructed to come back to court on August 24.

A second brief article then appeared in Das Demokrat on August 13, announcing the hearing postponement to August 24. The newspaper's editor, Arnold Krekel, wrote the article, acknowledgeing that he was “involved in the matter”; he had been hired by the group of German-Americans involved in the riot to be their lawyer. Krekel wrote that Das Demokrat would later “make a complete . . . presentation of the facts.”

The hearing on August 24 was held at the New Hope School west of Augusta at 10:00 in the morning. At that time Justice of the Peace Bigelow asked Chiles Ferney to assist him with the examinations of the approximately thirty witnesses who had arrived. At this point the document in the case file describing the proceedings, which was signed by Justice of the Peace Bigelow, is confusing as to what happened next. Fulkerson's attorney, William A. Alexander, asked for an affidavit to be made by someone on behalf of the state of Missouri, stating the charge against his client. Bigelow's document reads, “The justices deciding that there must be an affidavit made and no one appearing to make the same there was no further proceeding had and judgment for cost given against the state.” It is not clear why this affidavit was not produced, but what is clear is that James Bigelow dismissed the case with “no further proceeding.” The case again Fulkerson was dropped, and the witnesses were paid their fifty cents each and dismissed.

The store owned by John Schroer, the location of the riot, was the southern half of Block 18 on Water Street between Jackson and Green Streets

This list of witnesses suggests several points about the election day riot. First, the town was crowded that day, obviously due to the election, if fifty-two men were near enough to Schroer's store to become involved in the fracas. Second, since fifty-two men were involved, surely the incident which started inside the store, spilled out to the street as more individuals joined in. One can only imagine the crowd drawn by the noise of the riot, as more residents of Augusta hurried to the scene to watch. Third, it seems almost miraculous that more individuals were not shot during the riot, since it's unlikely that Fulkerson was the only participant who was carrying a gun that day.

Even though the state's case against Fulkerson was dismissed, the legal battles of the election day incident in Augusta were far from over. On September 29 Peter Fulkerson initiated a lawsuit, accusing thirty German-Americans of assaulting him in Augusta on election day. The men named were Henry Struckhoff, Bernard Struckhoff, John F. Schroer, Henry Dickhaus, Frederick Brinkmeier, Sr., Frederick Brinkmeier, Jr., Philip Benner, Henry Eckelmeier, Stephen Jeude, Jacob Jeude, William Dubbert, Gustvus Muench, John Nagle, John Schutenberg, August Sehrt, Bernard Follenius, Ernst Brockman, Henry Riemann, George H. Tuepker, Charles Nadler, Henry Huffmeyer, William Hasenjager, K. Hotmer, Gustavus Muhn, John F. Dickman, G. H. Mindrup, Fritz Wulfenkamp, John Henry Schrum, William Schroer, and John H. Tuepker. By early November, every one of them pled not guilty, except three who left town (Nagle, Hasenjager, and Dickman). All were defended by Arnold Krekel. Fulkerson accused the men of beating him with “clubs, swingtrees, pieces of iron, rocks, hatchets, and other deadly weapons.” This beating resulted in injuries “from the effects of which he will never recover.” Fulkerson asked for $5,000 in damages.

Just a week later, on October 4, George H. Tuepker, Jr., filed a lawsuit against Peter Fulkerson. Tuepker claimed he had been shot by Fulkerson during the riot on election day, the resulting injury leaving him unable to work. He asked for $3,000 in damages. Tuepker listed the following witnesses: John Schultenberg, Gustav Muench, Thomas F. Farris, Jacob Zumwalt, Frederick Brinkmeier, John F. Schroer, L. Gerling, G. H. Mindrup, and H. Hoffmeyer. Fulkerson filed his response to Tuepker's lawsuit, stating that he had started home from Augusta on election day and was passing the store of John Schroer. According to Fulkerson, one of his neighhbors called him into the store to look at something and then left the store, telling Fulkersontold to wait five minutes for him there. Fulkerson stated that when he went into store, he was assaulted “by a large number of Germans, thirty or more, armed with weapons . . . [who] beat, bruised, and otherwise injured” him, resulting in two of his ribs being broken. Fulkerson denied shooting Tuepker with the intent to kill but stated that he had fired his gun in self-defense.

On October 9, John F. Schroer filed another lawsuit against Peter Fulkerson. Schroer stated his“life was endangered” by the gunshot wound caused by Fulkerson, injuring him to the extent that he was unable to work. He asked for $5,000 in damages. Fulkerson's response to this new lawsuit was nearly identical to his response to the charges of George Tuepker. Again Fulkerson claimed he had shot Schroer in self-defense. The only additional information Fulkerson was that John F.Schroer held Fulkerson down during the riot so that other people could beat him. It is interesting to note that both Tuepker and Schroer were able to attend the August 8 hearing only five days after the riot in spite of what the men claimed were life-threatening gunshot wounds.

On November 21, 1857, the cases were continued until 1858 circuit court session. Finally, in June of 1858, Peter Fulkerson dismissed his suit again the thirty men. The suits were settled out of court. No further legal action was ever taken. Unfortunately there is no documentary evidence as to how these suits were resolved. Das Demokrat never printed a “complete . . . presentation of the facts.” Some of the men who were witnesses for the prosecution of Peter Fulkerson would later serve the Union cause in home guard units and the Enrolled Missouri Militia, while some of Fulkerson's defense witnesses would serve in the Confederate army. Peter Fulkerson made clear his support for the Confederacy in 1863 by naming his newborn son Robert E. Lee Fulkerson. Though Fulkerson, Schroer, and Tuepker worked out some kind of settlement after the 1857 riot, the town of Augusta would again be the scene of acrimonious events caused by devoted supporters of the North and South during the Civil War.

Sources: According to the Law: Immigrant Experiences at Augusta, Missouri by Anita M. Mallinckrodt; Circuit Court Records, St. Charles County, Missouri: Folders 48, 77, 85, 125 from Box 11 – 1857 (St. Charles County Historical Society); Federal Population and Slave Censuses; Historical Highlights; Town of Augusta Missouri from Town Board Records 1855-1903 by Anita M. Mallinckrodt; A History of Augusts, Mo. and Its Area, 1850s-1860s by Anita M. Mallinckrodt; United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860 by Michael J. Dubin; Wikipedia.org.