On September 23, 1930, Charles M. Stedman, the last Civil War veteran (Union or Confederate) to serve in the U.S. Congress, died.
A native North Carolinian, Stedman was born in Pittsboro in 1841. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1861 and enlisted as a private in the 1st North Carolina “Bethel Regiment.” Stedman was promoted to major of the 44th North Carolina Infantry. Afterwards, he returned to Chatham County to teach. While in Chatham County he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1865.
His interest in politics began with the 1880 Democratic Convention. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1884, but failed in his bid for the governor’s office in 1888.
Stedman was a University of North Carolina trustee from 1899 to 1915, the president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 1900 and had a second unsuccessful run for governor in 1904.
First elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1910 and was reelected nine times, serving until his death in 1930. He was buried in Cross Creek Cemetery in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Other related resources:
- Resources related to the Civil War from across DNCR
- Images of the Civil War from the State Archives
- The Civil War on NCpedia
- The Civil War digital collection of the State Archives and State Library
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