Catalog
Ramsey County History – Spring 1994: “The ‘Fighting Saint’—The U.S.S. St. Paul and Its Minnesota Connection”
Tom BolanThe ‘Fighting Saint’—The U.S.S. St. Paul and Its Minnesota Connection Author: Tom Bolan The last shot of World War II from a U.S. warship was fired from the U.S.S. St. Paul, a heavy cruiser known as the “Fighting Saint.” This article recounts the combat record of the ship at the…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1994: “D-Day Remembered by Seven Who Were There”
Virginia Brainard KunzD-Day Remembered by Seven Who Were There Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz This article consists of excerpts from interviews with seven men from the St. Paul area who were among the many British and American soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fought the Germans at Normandy in France on D-Day, June 6,…
Ramsey County History – Winter 1993: “Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve, Daughter of a Frontier Regiment—1819”
Ronald M. HubbsCharlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve, Daughter of a Frontier Regiment—1819 Author: Ronald M. Hubbs Charlotte Clark was born in Prairie du Chien in 1819 as her family made their way to her father’s posting at still-to-be-built Fort Snelling. As an adult, she married another soldier, who served in the Dakota War…
Ramsey County History – Winter 1993: “Josias King: First Volunteer for the Union”
Robert J. StummJosias King: First Volunteer for the Union Author: Robert J. Stumm Minnesota legend insists that Minnesota offered the first Union army volunteers of the Civil War, and that the first of the first was Josias King. He posed for the monument at the foot of Summit Avenue. This is his…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1992: “Fifty Year Later—A Survivor’s Memories of the Bataan Death March”
Philip S. Brain Jr.Fifty Year Later—A Survivor’s Memories of the Bataan Death March Author: Philip S. Brain Jr. “The line beneath life and death is very narrow.” The first line of this memoir sets the tone. The author spent almost all of World War II as a prisoner of the Japanese. His account,…
Ramsey County History – Winter 1991: “St. Paul’s First Shot Veterans: The Crew of the U.S.S. Ward and the Attack on Pearl Harbor”
Jane McClureSt. Paul’s First Shot Veterans: The Crew of the U.S.S. Ward and the Attack on Pearl Harbor Author: Jane McClure The U.S.S. Ward, a destroyer, served in combat for precisely three years, December 7, 1941 to December 6, 1944. Manned by naval reservists from St. Paul, the Ward saw combat…
Ramsey County History – Winter 1991: “Help, Housing ‘Almost Impossible to Find’: A Single Mother and World War II”
Hilda RacheyHelp, Housing ‘Almost Impossible to Find’: A Single Mother and World War II Author: Hilda Rachey The trials of a young, single, working mother of two in St. Paul during World War II. She had to scramble time and again to find housing and child care (both often inadequate), deal…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1990: “The Wacouta in Two World Wars”
Thomas C. BuckleyThe Wacouta in Two World Wars Author: Thomas C. Buckley After James Hill died the family sold the Wacouta. Under three different names, Harvard, Athinai, and Palermo, it served as a World War I patrol boat, a Greek passenger ship, an Italian naval vessel, and a Mediterranean commercial craft. It…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1989: “A Pioneer Writes Home: Alexander Wilkin and 1850s St. Paul”
Ronald M. HubbsA Pioneer Writes Home: Alexander Wilkin and 1850s St. Paul Author: Ronald M. Hubbs Alexander Wilkin was an important early resident of St. Paul. Lawyer, speculator, politician, adventurer, he sought fortune and glory on the frontier. He got both, plus an early death in battle. Letters he wrote to…