Captain James Stuart was born on July 12, 1825 in the Nathaniel Heyward House on Bay Street to John A. Stuart and Claudia Smith, daughter of James Smith and Mariana Gough Smith. His father was editor of the first Beaufort Gazette (1828 - 1830) and ran the Charleston Mercury newspaper from 1830-1846. (John A. Stuart is one of "Beaufort's Galaxy of Great Men" according to Gilbert P. Voigt.) Capt. Stuart graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 1846 where he was George McClellan's roommate. He served bravely in the battles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Conteras, Churubusco, Chapultepec and helped capture Mexico City during the Mexican War. Most military accounts mention that when volunteers were requested, Stuart immediately stepped out first. He was breveted twice for his gallantry and meritorious conduct. After the Mexican War, he reverted to regular rank as a 2nd Lieutenant and got some leave to visit home where he was feted in Charleston. Shortly thereafter he was assigned to the West. He never married.
Stuart was posted to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and later to Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory, where he was assigned to the command of Col. Philip D. Kearney. The unit was stationed to monitor the Indians. On June 17, 1851 he was mortally wounded by an Indian's arrow near the Rogue River Valley. After lingering in awful pain for a day, he died and was buried for the first time in Phoenix, Oregon under the shade of two oak trees by his friend Capt. John Walker. Stuart's body would later be disinterred by order of Kearney and accompanied by Walker across the Isthmus of Panama (Construction of the Panama Canal did not begin until 30 years later) with the goal of reburying Stuart at West Point. Upon reaching Beaufort, Walker asked Mrs. Stuart for her permission to do so. Stuart's mother said "No." She is said to have explained to Capt. Walker that in 1837 her son had given her instructions: "When I am dead, bury me by the side of my grandmother in the Beaufort churchyard." One of his cousins provides a slightly different version of this family story, viz. Stuart said: "Mother, when I die, please bury me in old St. Helena. You know how I love to go there and hear the birds sing in those big trees." Regardless of his specific instructions, Stuart's body lies peacefully in lot C-5 in the Parish Church of St. Helena churchyard today.
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| Beaufort County Library https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:126711 |
Over time tombstone inscriptions erode away. We are lucky that Heyward and Smith transcribed the grave markers in the St. Helena Churchyard almost a hundred years ago. His tombstone reads: "Brev- Capt- James- Stuart / Reg- Mounted Rifles U.S.A. / Who "fell mortally wounded / in Battle with the Indians in / Oregon While leading his men / gallantly to Victory / June 17 - 1851 / Gen. Jones report / He was a gifted, accomplished, and noble Hearted gentleman [Side] "Brevit 2nd Lieut / James Stuart/ One of the storming party / was the first to mount / every battery from / Chapultepec to the City / " Gen. Smith's report / dated City of Mexico / Sept 19, 1847 / Son of / John A. and Claudia S Stuart / Born in Beaufort S C. / July 12-1825 / Graduated at West Point / June 1846 / Fought six Battles in Mexico / and died June 18- 1851
The South Carolina legislature honored his memory with a ceremonial sword, one of four Calhoun swords crafted by Ames Manufacturing Company, that was presented to his eldest brother in 1852. That sword is reputedly still in the possession of the Stuart Family.
Sources informing this post:
"Beaufort's Galaxy of Great Men" by Gilbert P. Voigt [presented before] the Beaufort County Historical Society, June 19th, 1956, Beaufort County Historical Society Papers, #27.
Old Churchyard Cemetery of St. Helena's Episcopal Church, Beaufort, South Carolina ... edited and published by parishioners James Cawood Presgraves and S. Louise Presgraves (Type personally hand-set and pages hand-fed by the Editors, and Printed on their 19th century hand printing press at Beaufort, SC, 1987).
South Carolina in the Mexican War: A History of the Palmetto Regiment of Volunteers, 1846-1917 by Jack Allen Meyer, (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1996).
Magnolia Cemetery: An Interpretation of Some of Its Monuments and Inscriptions, with a Reminiscence of Captain James Stuart, a Notice of John Allan Stuart, and a Tribute to the People of Beaufort by Benjamin R. Stuart ( Charleston, S.C. : Kahrs & Welch, Print, 1896).
The Story of an American Family by Stephen B. Barnwell (Marquette, Michigan: Self-published, 1969).
Compiled archive of Beaufort Gazette newspaper columns written by Gerhard Spieler, 1972 - 2007:
- "Captain Stuart: A Soldier's Life, A Soldier's Death" by Gerhard Spieler, Beaufort Gazette, December 12, 1974, p. 7-B.
- "Mexican War Veterans Honored in St. Helena's Churchyard," by Gerhard Spieler, Beaufort Gazette, November 12, 1996, p. 5A.
- "Revisiting the Death of Capt. James R. Stuart" by Gerhard Spieler, Beaufort Gazette, February 18, 2007, p. 3C.
- "Continuing the Story of Captain Stuart" by Gerhard Spieler, Beaufort Gazette, February 25, 2007, p. 3C.
- "Bringing Stuart Back Completely Full Circle" by Gerhard Spieler, Beaufort Gazette, June 17, 2007, p. 3C.
"Rest in Peace, Capt. Stuart: A War Hero from Another Century was Buried in Phoenix, then Seemingly Disappeared" by Bill Miller, Mail Tribune (Medford, Oregon), May 6, 2007 in the BDC's "Stuart Family" vertical file.
Latest update: 21 July 2020 -gmc
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