Asbury Coward (September 19, 1835 – April 28, 1925) was a school leader,

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

officer, and South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He served as Superintendent of

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

. He was born on the Quenby Plantation outside

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, and graduated from South Carolina Military Academy (now

) in 1854. He and classmate Micah Jenkins established the King's Mountain Military School in Yorkville in 1855. It closed at the start of the American Civil War. It reopened after the war but the boarding school struggled with the challenging times and closed. During the Civil War, Coward was commissioned as a colonel and served under General

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...

in Tennessee and Georgia. He was also a member of the 5th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment and an assistant adjutant on Col. David Rumph Jones' staff. In one of his reports, Gen.

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

described Coward as "one of the best Colonels in his army." He served as president of the

Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain is a small suburb, suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland County, North Carolina, Cleveland and Gaston County, North Carolina, Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Clev ...

, centennial committee. In 1890, Coward was named Superintendent of The Citadel. He remained in that office until 1908 and died in 1925. He is buried at Rosehill Cemetery in York County. The

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

erected a monument honoring him at Kings Mountain National Military Park in Blacksburg. The Citadel has a collection of his letters.

Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, a ...

has a small collection of his letters. His memoir was published in 1968.

References

External links

Find a Grave entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coward, Asbury 1835 births 1925 deaths The Citadel alumni The Citadel faculty Confederate States Army officers People from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina superintendents of education