General Walter Stewart | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Peale_miniature_portrait_of_Walter_Stewart.jpg) Walter Stewart, miniature portrait by Charles Willson Peale, 1781 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1756 Derry, Ireland |
| Died | June 16, 1796 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse | Deborah McClenachan |
| Children | 8 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | Infantry |
| Years of service | 1776–1783 |
| Rank | Brevet Brigadier General, Continental Army Major General (Militia) |
| Battles/wars | |
Walter Stewart (1756 – June 16, 1796) was an Irish-born American general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Stewart began his military career as captain of a Pennsylvania infantry company at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to Horatio Gates for a year with the rank of major. Given command of the Pennsylvania State Regiment, which later became the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment, Stewart led his troops with distinction at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777. He was wounded while leading a detachment at the Battle of Monmouth in the summer of 1778. Despite Stewart's ability to cool tensions during the 1780 mutiny of the Connecticut Line, his regiment later became involved in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny.
He was married in Philadelphia in 1781 before going south with the army to fight in the decisive siege of Yorktown. After the British surrender, Stewart was deeply involved in the Newburgh Conspiracy. Following a term as Inspector General, he retired from the army at the beginning of 1783, and became a successful Philadelphia businessman and a general in the state militia. He died on June 16, 1796, during an outbreak of yellow fever.