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W.D. Stuart
(1830 - 1863)
Home State: Virginia
Education: Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Class of 1850;Class Rank: 3rd/17
Command Billet: Commanding Regiment
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 56th Virginia Infantry
see his Battle Report
Before Sharpsburg
Following graduation taught at VMI (1850-1853) and subsequently was Principal of classical schools in Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia.1 He joined the 15th Virginia Infantry in June 1861 and was Lieutenant Colonel by July.2 He transferred to the 56th Regiment in September and was appointed Colonel on 3 May 1862.3
On the Campaign
He commanded the regiment into Maryland, and in action on South Mountain on 14 September 1862, but was very ill by the 17th and relived in command there by Captain McPhail of Company A.
The rest of the War
He was wounded at Gettysburg during "Pickett's Charge" of 3 July 1863, and died in a hospital in Staunton, VA just less than a month after.1
More on the Web
There is a collection of his papers at VMI. The photo above is from a CDV sold by Cowan's Auctions in December 2009.
Birth
09/30/1830; Staunton, VA
Death
07/29/1863; Staunton, VA; burial in Thornrose Cemetery, Staunton, VA
1 From biographical notes accompaning his papers.
Virginia Military Institute, and Diane B. Jacob, Head, Archives & Records Management, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Published c.2000, first accessed 01 January 2003, <http://www.vmi.edu/archives/> [AotW citation 577]
2 Manarin, Louis H., 15th Virginia Infantry, Lynchburg: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990 [AotW citation 578]
3 Young, William A. Jr., and Patricia C. Young, 56th Virginia Infantry, Lynchburg: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990 [AotW citation 579]