The James B. Eads Award is presented annually to the most outstanding Camp in the Department of Missouri. James Buchanan Eads was born on May 23, 1820 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri as a young teenager and took odd jobs to sustain himself. Though Eads’ formal schooling ended before he was 14, he learned mathematics and the sciences on his own. Eads’ energy and inventiveness resulted in his becoming a prominent riverine engineer by the time of the Civil War and turned out to be an invaluable asset in helping the Union regain control of the Mississippi River.

In 1861, Eads won a contract from the Federal government for the construction of seven ironclad gunboats to be completed within 100 days. Eads’ gunboats were used to help capture Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862, one month before the famous USS Monitor and CSS Virginia exchanged fire at Hampton Roads, Virginia. During the war, he continued to construct gunboats and mortarboats for use on the Mississippi River.

In 1867, he began work on the steel-arch bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis that still bears his name. The bridge was opened with ceremony on July 4, 1874. For the next decade, Eads’ excellent reputation as an innovator gained him consulting jobs across the United States and internationally. His last great plan was for the construction of a ship railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Central America. In 1884, Eads moved from St. Louis to New York, but he was in Nassau, Bahama Islands at the time of his death on March 8, 1887. He is buried in historic Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Type of Award

• Battle Streamer for Camp Flag/Framed Certificate for Camp
• Plaque/Certificate with running list of award winners maintained by the Department

Process

Each year, Camp Secretaries track points during the period 16 May to 15 May of the following year and submit tallies to the Department Secretary by 20 May. Upon concurrence from the Department Secretary, the Camp tallies are forwarded to the Department Senior Vice Commander for selection of the winner. Recommendation is then forwarded to the Department Commander for approval. The award is then presented at the Annual Department Encampment.