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Alfred Stedman Hartwell, A 1858. At the start of the
War he joined the 44th Massachusetts Infantry, was made
Capt. of the 54th Regt. and ended the War as the Col. of the
55th and brevetted to Brig, Gen. by War’s end. Among the
group of hand-picked officers of the 54th was Alfred S.
Hartwell who was commissioned as senior Captain and
eventually transferred to the 55th as the Massachusetts
“Colored Regiments” expanded. The 54th and 55th are the
units made famous in the movie Glory about their
assault on Confederate coastal forts. Brother Stedman fought
for equal treatment for his soldiers and threatens his
resignation if his troops did not receive the same pay and
treatment as white troops from Massachusetts. Stedman
returned to Harvard for a law degree and became a
Massachusetts legislator and ended up as the Attorney
General of the
Kingdom of Hawaii. His last address was Honolulu,
Sandwich Islands. After the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy he
was adamant that the United States acquire a permanent lease
with Hawaii for Pearl Harbor as he believed it to be of
great military importance.
Interestingly enough the same Psi U
pledge class that produced a man of Stedman’s stature also
had Psi U’s only Southern General, and famous one at that.
 Fitzhugh
Lee, A 1858. The second son of Robert E. Lee,
William was born at the family home of "Arlington" in
Virginia on May 31, 1837. Known as "Rooney," he graduated
from Harvard and entered the army in 1857 as a 2nd
lieutenant in the 6th Infantry. Two years later, after
participating in the Utah Expedition, Lee resigned to farm
at his plantation known as "White House," that he had
inherited from his maternal grandfather, located on the
Pamunkey River.
When the Civil War began, and with the
secession of Virginia, Rooney joined the Confederate army as
a captain, then was promoted to major upon joining the
Confederate cavalry. During the summer of 1861 he served in
Western Virginia in Brigadier General William Loring's
cavalry. He then spent the remainder of 1861 and a portion
of 1862 in and near Fredericksburg. Following this he was
appointed a lieutenant colonel and within a short time was
promoted again to colonel, serving under Major General J.E.B.
Stuart.
At the
Battle of South Mountain, he was thrown from his horse
and knocked unconscious. Still, his performance there was
noteworthy and consequently he was promoted to brigadier
general on September 15, 1862.
As a brigadier general, Lee served
well, commanding the 3rd Brigade at the Battles of
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At the Battle of Brandy
Station on June 9, 1863, Rooney was wounded, suffering from
a severe leg injury. While recovering, he was captured on
June 26, 1863 by Union soldiers. Taken to a Union prison, he
stayed there for nine months before being exchanged in March
1864. Upon his release, he learned that his wife had died
during his incarceration.
Given a new command, Rooney was
promoted to major general on April 23, 1864, and upon
accepting this promotion, became the youngest officer to
attain that rank in the Confederacy. During the final year
of the war, as the Confederacy had fewer and fewer officers
through attrition, Rooney's role increased. In August 1864,
near Petersburg at Globe Tavern, Lee commanded a cavalry
brigade. Near war's end in April 1865, Rooney was the
second-in-command during the retreat from Petersburg to
Appomattox, having the total responsibility for the army's
right flank.
When the war ended, Rooney returned to
his plantation, "White House," to find that it had been
unfortunately, destroyed by Union troops in 1862. He then
rebuilt his home, farmed the land, and served as president
of the Virginia Agricultural Society. We went on to become a
state senator followed by his election to the House of
Representatives in 1887. While serving his second term, he
died at "Ravensworth," his wife's inherited home in
Alexandria, Virginia on October 15, 1891.
William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee is
buried at the Lee Mausoleum on the campus of
Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, near
his famous father, and grandfather. Lee is the
step-great-grandson of George Washington.
Thus ends
a small chapter in Psi Upsilon history. A history that binds
us to the Founders of our Fraternity and our Country. I
encourage other Psi U Civil War buffs out there to tackle
quick histories of their chapters during the War Between the
States. Feel free to contact the author with any comments or
corrections.
YITB,
Sam Tinaglia
Omega ‘88
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