Alexander Swift “Sandie” Pendleton

Alexander Swift “Sandie” Pendleton

Courtesy of the Virginia Military Institute Archives

Quick Facts

Significance:

Confederate Staff Officer

Place of Birth:

Alexandria, Virginia

Date of Birth:

September 28, 1840

Place of Death:

Woodstock, Virginia

Date of Death:

September 23, 1864

Place of Burial:

Lexington, Virginia

Cemetery Name:

Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery

Alexander "Sandie" Swift Pendleton was a Confederate staff officer during the Civil War. He served under several Confederate generals, including Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Jubal Early. Pendleton was killed following the Battle of Fisher's Hill during the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. 

Early Life 

Alexander Swift Pendleton was born on September 28, 1840, near Alexandria, Virginia. He was the son of William Nelson Pendleton and Anzolette E. Page. His father was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and later served as Chief of Artillery for the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The Pendletons moved to Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley in 1853 when William was appointed as an Episcopal minister in the town. Alexander entered Lexington's Washington College that fall and graduated in 1857. Two years later he entered the University of Virginia to pursue a master's degree. His graduate studies and plans to enter the ministry were cut short when Virginia seceded from the United States in April 1861.

Earning Stonewall's Trust

Pendleton served unofficially with his father's command, the Rockbridge Artillery, part of the Stonewall Brigade. In June 1861, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson asked him to join his staff as a Second Lieutenant and brigade ordnance officer. Appointed a First Lieutenant in November 1861, Pendleton became Jackson's de facto chief of staff during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. Jackson prized Pendleton's intelligence, attention to detail, and energy. When asked for frank assessments of several lower-ranking officers, Jackson replied, "Ask Sandie Pendleton. If he does not know, no one does." Jackson recommended him for promotion to Captain just after the end of the campaign.

Army of Northern Virginia 

Pendleton was present with Jackson's command during the Seven Days' Battles outside of Richmond, Virginia that summer. He participated in the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 and was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. Afterwards, Pendleton was promoted to Major and served as the Assistant Adjutant General for the Jackson's Second Corps. Pendleton quickly gained a reputation as a respected and dependable staff officer. After Jackson's death following the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Pendleton remained on the staff of the commander's successor, Richard S. Ewell. A promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff came in August 1863. 

Return to the Valley 

Ewell was replaced as the 2nd Corps commander by Jubal Early in May 1864. Pendleton kept the same position. He accompanied Early during the July raid on Washington, DC and the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. On September 22, 1864, Early's Confederates were overwhelmed and defeated at Fisher's Hill. Trying to rally soldiers streaming to the rear, Pendleton was mortally wounded. He died the next day in the nearby town of Woodstock, less than a week before his 24th birthday. He is buried in Lexington, not far from the grave of Stonewall Jackson.