Alexander P. Stewart

Alexander Peter Stewart (October 2, 1821 – August 30, 1908) was a Confederate military officer during the American Civil War and a college professor. He fought in many of the most significant battles in the Western Theater of the war and briefly took command of the Army of Tennessee in 1865.

Early life and career Stewart was born in Rogersville, Tennessee. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842 (12th of 56 cadets) and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment. He resigned his commission on May 31, 1845 to become a professor of mathematics and experimental philosophy at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, and later attained the same position at the University of Nashville.

Civil War service At the start of the American Civil War in 1861, although he was a strong anti-secessionist Whig politically, Stewart accepted a commission as major in the artillery of the Tennessee Militia on May 17. Shortly afterward, he entered the Confederate States Army on August 15 as a major of artillery. Stewart led the Third Corps at the Battle of Ezra Church, where he was wounded in the forehead on July 28. Russell delivered the funeral sermon in St. Louis following Stewart's death in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1908. Stewart is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri.

A statue of Stewart erected in 1919 is located outside the Hamilton County Courthouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee.