Who Was Peter Stewart Ney?
In North Carolina's historic* mystery, the
evidence of Areliiliald II. .Wurphey's let¬
ters has often heen overlooked.
One of the most fascinating charac¬
ters in North Carolina history is the
eccentric school teacher. Peter Stewart
Ney. of Iredell County. Many people
in his day were convinced that he was
the famed French General. Marshal
Ney, and some even to this day cling to
the story.
Marshal Ney. affectionately known
as "The bravest of the brave." was
perhaps, next to Napoleon, the great¬
est of the generals produced by the
French Revolution. From the moment
the privileges of the aristocracy were
abolished, and military promotion was
open to all classes of the community,
Ncy's career was as rapid as it was
brilliant. He was appointed Marshal of
the French Empire in his thirty-fifth
year; and from that period he shared,
day by day. all the glories and perils of
Napoleon. After the defeat of Na¬
poleon, along with a number of others,
he was arrested as a traitor and put to
death by a firing squad in the Garden
of the Luxembourg on December 7.
1815.
Marshal Ney was a popular hero in
France, and at once all sorts of rumors
began to spread that he had not really
been put to death. Ney was a Mason
and it was said that the Masonic Fra¬
ternity and the Duke of Wellington,
who was also a Mason, had arranged
his escape and that he had fled to
America.
Fugitive General
On January 29. 1816, a man who
bore a striking resemblance to Marshal
Ney landed in Charleston. South Caro¬
lina. One day two Frenchmen thought
they recognized him as their old com¬
mander. but before they could recover
from their astonishment, he had turned
the corner and they lost sight of him.
Three and a half years later, this
stranger turned up in the small town of
Cheraw, South Carolina. Here he met
Colonel Benjamin Rogers, and said
that his name was Peter Stewart Ney.
that he was a Frenchman, that he had
By HERBERT S. TURNER
served in the French Army, that he had
been forced to leave the country for
political reasons, and that he was look¬
ing for a position as school teacher.
Rogers employed him and he became a
successful and popular teacher. Ap¬
parently Ney never claimed to be the
Marshal of France while living in the
Rogers' home, but he was always
evasive about his origin, talked much of
the Napoleonic wars and showed a re¬
markable familiarity with his cam¬
paigns. which gave the impression that
he was more than just a fugitive from
France. One day he suddenly disap¬
peared and later turned up in North
Carolina.
Enigmatic Teacher
For the remainder of his life he
taught school in various communities,
mostly in Rowan County and in and
around Mocksville. with the exception
of the two years he spent teaching in
Mecklenburg County in Virginia, liv¬
ing in one of the homes in the com¬
munity where his school was located.
He died of pneumonia in the home of
Osborne Foard on November 15. 1846
and was buried in the cemetery of the
Third Creek Presbyterian Church,
which was about a mile from the
Foard home.
He was a gifted scholar, an excellent
teacher, and proficient in the Latin.
Greek, and Hebrew languages, in
Mathematics and Surveying. He main¬
tained strict discipline in his schools
and was very popular with his students.
He wrote poetry, and many of his
poems were published in the news¬
papers of that day. He also wrote
acrostic poems and at times other
poems for his favorite pupils. He un¬
derstood military tactics and was an
excellent fencer.
In his conversations with the families
with whom he lived he was always
vague about his origin, but on oc¬
casions he is said to have confided to
his favorite pupils that he was the
Marshal of France. This together with
his mysterious trips away from North
Carolina, and an occasional mysterious
visitor, kept alive among the people of
that community a belief that he was
really Marshal Ney of France. In his
latter years he drank rather heavily at
times, and when he was intoxicated, he
would throw off his reserve and freely
admit that he was Marshal Ney of
France.
Ney at Davidson
One winter while teaching school
near Davidson College, the committee
who had been appointed to select a seal
for the college, went to sec Ney for his
suggestions. They found him. so the
story goes, at the noon hour sitting at
the spring near the school house. When
they had explained the purpose of their
visit, he took a piece of paper front his
pocket and drew a rough sketch of
what he thought the seal should be.
The design met the approval of the
committee and it was adopted as the
seal of the college at the next meeting
of the Board. During that winter he of¬
ten visited the college library and
among Davidson's prize collections are
Ncy's annotations on the margin of
some of the books which he read. Miss
Cornelia Shaw in her History of David¬
son College says: "His authorship of
the seal, his visits to our campus, his
notations in one of the library books,
give Davidson a peculiar interest in his
pathetic life and story."
During his last illness, just a short
time before he died. Dr. Matthew
Locke is said to have asked him, "Mr.
Ney. there is something that has been
THE STATE. March 15. 1970
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