Archibald Stuart (December 2, 1795 – September 20, 1855) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He was the first cousin of Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart and the father of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, who was the seventh of eleven children. Congressional Directory, "Archibald Stuart"

Early life

Born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

to Anne Dabney Stuart and Judge Alexander Stuart (who had previously served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

), Stuart received a private education suitable to his class. He attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

from to 1780.

Career

He became an officer in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and studied law afterward. After being admitted to the bar, Stuart commenced practice in Lynchburg. He was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830. Stuart was elected a Democrat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1836, serving from 1837 to 1839. After losing reelection to Isaac Adams, Stuart resumed practicing law. In 1850-51 he served in the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 was an assembly of elected delegates chosen by the voters to write the fundamental law of Virginia. It is known as the Reform Convention because it liberalized Virginia political institutions. Backgro ...

. He served to the Virginia Senate, serving from 1852 to 1854.

Death and legacy

Stuart died suddenly at his home, " Laurel Hill" in

Patrick County, Virginia Patrick County is a county located on the central southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 17,608. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valley ...

, on September 20, 1855. He was interred in the Stuart family cemetery at Laurel Hill. His son J.E.B. Stuart, who had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1854 to start his military career, resigned his U.S. Army commission to join the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

, eventually commanding the Cavalry Corps of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

with the rank of Major General before his combat-related death in 1864. In 1859, this man's widow, Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart, whose ancestor William Lechter had founded the plantation, and died there, killed by a Tory sympathizer in 1780) sold Laurel Hill (including the plantation house rebuilt after an 1847/8 fire) to two men from North Carolina. In 1952 the Stuart family re-interred this man's remains in

Saltville Saltville is a town in Smyth and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,824 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a co ...

(in Smyth and Washington Counties, Virginia), next to his widow, although the family members (as well as slaves) may still be interred at Laurel Hill. In 1991, Laurel Hill was preserved by the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Trust, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1998.

Electoral history

*1837; Stuart was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 56.08% of the vote, defeating Whig Nathaniel H. Claiborne. *1839; Stuart lost his re-election bid.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Archibald 1795 births 1855 deaths Archibald American military personnel of the War of 1812 American people of Scotch-Irish descent College of William & Mary alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Patrick County, Virginia Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia Virginia lawyers Democratic Party Virginia state senators Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly