John Alexander "Alex" Tyler (April 7, 1848 – September 1, 1883) was the second son of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

and his second wife,

Julia Gardiner Tyler Julia Tyler ( ''née'' Gardiner; May 4, 1820 – July 10, 1889) was the second wife of John Tyler, who was the tenth president of the United States. As such, she served as the first lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 184 ...

. He was born at the Tyler estate,

Sherwood Forest Plantation Sherwood Forest Plantation Foundation is located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. The main plantation house, built in 1730, was the home of President John Tyler (1790–1862) for the last twenty years of hi ...

, near

Charles City, Virginia Charles City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles City County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Charles City County. The population as of the 2020 census was 104. The community is centered on the Charles City County Cou ...

During the Civil War

After the death of his father, at age 14 he ran away from home to enlist in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, but was rejected as too young. His mother,

, eventually allowed him to join the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

because it had a lesser casualty rate than the Confederate Army. However, Tyler spent most of his time on a ship quarantined due to

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

and left naval service in 1864. After attending college for three months, he left and joined the First Virginia Battalion of Artillery under General Robert E. Lee, just prior to Lee's surrender at Appomattox, which effectively ended the war.

In Europe

In 1865, he and his brother,

David Gardiner Tyler David Gardiner Tyler (July 12, 1846 – September 5, 1927) was an American politician and the ninth child and fourth son of John Tyler, the List of presidents of the United States, tenth president of the United States. Born in New York, Tyler w ...

, traveled to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to attend college, where he studied in Carlsruhe,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

and

Freiberg, Saxony Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...

to become a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. Still in Germany in 1870 at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Tyler enlisted in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and joined the First Uhlan regiment under the command of King John of Saxony. He served with distinction in the occupation of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1871.

Later years

In 1873, Tyler returned to the United States and attempted to find work as a mining engineer near

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, but was unable to find a position, probably due to the

Depression of 1873–79 The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1896, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing st ...

. Although he did find a job with a railroad, the salary did not allow him to meet his debts, and he had financial problems until he married a wealthier

third cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

, Sarah Griswold Gardiner, on August 5, 1875. President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

later appointed him as a surveyor for the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. In 1883, at 35 years old, Tyler died of a fever while working as a mining engineer in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

References

External sources

* * Jürgen Just: ''John Alexander Tyler (1848–1883), US-Präsidentensohn, Freiberger Montane und Karlsruher Bavare''. Einst und Jetzt, Jahrbuch des Vereins für corpsstudentische Geschichtsforschung 65 (2020), S. 161–168

n German N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, John Alexander 1848 births 1883 deaths

John Alexander Tyler John Alexander "Alex" Tyler (April 7, 1848 – September 1, 1883) was the second son of President John Tyler and his second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler. He was born at the Tyler estate, Sherwood Forest Plantation, near Charles City, Virginia. ...

Children of presidents of the United States Children of vice presidents of the United States People from Charles City, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War People of the Franco-Prussian War American mining engineers Gardiner family American people of English descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent American expatriates in Germany United States Department of the Interior officials