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From: "E. B. Herron" <>
Subject: [Fwd: [STEWART] Confederate Lieut General Alexander Peter STEWART 1821-1908]
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 11:10:28 -0800


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Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 11:59:39 -0600
Subject: Re: [STEWART] Confederate Lieut General Alexander Peter STEWART 1821-1908
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From: Betty D Stewart <>
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"The University of Mississippi, The Formative Years, 1848-1906" by James
B LLoyd; Thomas M Verich, contributing editor; Deborah J Thiel,
Photography editor and designer, published 1979 by the Jahn Davis
Williams Library, department of Archives and Special collections, the
University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 28677.pages 42 & 43 (
a photo of alexander P Stewart is on page 43)
Alexander Peter stewart was born in Rogersville, Tennessee, on October
21, 1821.. He graduated from West Point in 1842 and served as assistant
Professor of Mathematics there from 1843 until 1845 when he resigned his
commission. Stewart then became Professor of Mathematics and Natural
Philosophy at cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where except
for two brief sojourns to the University of Nashville (1849-1850 and
1854-1855) he taught until the outbreak of the was. He tendered his
services to the Army of Tennessee and became a major of artillery,
quickly rising to Brigadier General in 1861, Major General in 1863, and
Leiutenant General in command of the Army of Tennessee by 1865. After
the war Stewart returned to Cumberland, where he taught until 1870 when
he removed to St Louis to accept the Secretaryship of the St Louis Mutual
Life Insurance company. The position, however proved incompatible and in
the summer of 1874 he accepted the Chancellorship of the U of M vacated
by Waddell.
The post-Reconstruction era in Mississippi is known as the Bourbon
period or the rule of the brigadier generals and in this respect Stewart
certainly fits the pattern. By 1874 the University's enrollment had
dwindled to 137 and Stewart's appointment likely was calculated to
restore confidence and prove that the University was in no danger of
being abandoned to the radical forces of Reconstruction. The move, if
such it was, was successful, for it, along with the appointment of a new
Board of Trustees, eventually resulted in an enrollment of 417 in 1877, a
high for the entire period.
But Stewart in many ways did not conform to the conservative Bourbon
pattern. He was a life-long Whig, not a Democrat, and he never approved
of secession; furthermore, he seems to have been amenable to
co-education, which was begun during his tenure, an extremely
un-Bourbonlike opion indeed. And despite his military career he was
never a militrist. True, during his time in office various
quasi-military disciplinary measures were taken, but these emanated from
the Board of Trustees, not from Stewart, whose characteristic response to
a breach of discipline-like Holmes' before him-was a heart to heart talk
with the culprit. On one occasion, to the Trustees' chagrin, Stewart
even suggested that mandatory attendance at morning chapel be abolished,
and it was, in fact, possibly a difference of attitude regarding
discipline which caused his resignation. During Waddel's administration
the students had been somewhat chastened by the war, but by Stewart's
time they had recovered their characteristic boisterousness. His
inability to effectively control them may have shaken the confidence of
the trustee, who in June of 1886 declared all chairs in the University
vacant. The Chancellor and sll his faculty were reelected byt Stewart
resigned on July 27 and returned to St Louis. He and his wife traveled
in colorado and california until 1890, when Stewart was appointed to the
Board of Commissioners of Chickamuga Park, where he had fought, to
supervise the placing of markers and monuments; he retired in 1900 and
died in Biloxi on August 30, 1908."

I hope this helps you with your research. I haven't looked in any of our
other history books, but only 1 is indexed. You have many places to
look. Archives and Manuscript Department, McCain Library and
Archives,The University of Southern Mississippi, PO Box 5148, at
Hattiesburg, MS 39406. 601-266-4348 may have some info since he lived on
the coast. Your best bet might be Ole Miss and places in Tennessee.
Good luck. If I can help you anymore. Let me know.

On Wed, 05 Feb 2003 10:35:10 -0800 "E. B. Herron" <>
writes:
> Betty,
>
> Thank you for your kind offer. I do not have access to this book
> and would
> be most appreciative of any information you could provide.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Ed and Bea Herron
>
>
> Betty D Stewart wrote:
>
> > If you do nothave access to the book on the University of
> Mississippi, I
> > could e-mail you the information in the book. Betty Stewart
> >
> > On Mon, 03 Feb 2003 21:52:54 -0800 "E. B. Herron"
> <>
> > writes:
> > > I am seeking information regarding the wife of General Alexander
> > > Peter
> > > STEWART, Harriet Byron CHASE. Alexander Peter, born 1821 in
> > > Rogersville, Hawkins Co, TN, was the son of William Stewart and
> > > Elizabeth Dechard. He graduated from West Point in 1842. He
> > > married
> > > Harriet in 1845. He was an educator before the Civil War, a
> > > business
> > > man after the War, returning to education in 1874 when he became
> the
> > > chancellor of the University of Mississippi.
> > >
> > > Ed HERRON
> > >
> > >
> > > ==== STEWART Mailing List ====
> > > When was the last time you updated your anti-virus program?
> > > Keep your fellow listmembers safe -- make sure your anti-virus
> > > program
> > > is on, active and up to date! The data you save may be your
> own.
> > >
> > >
>
>


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