Robert Marcellus Stewart (March 12, 1815 – September 21, 1871) was the 14th Governor of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

from 1857 to 1861, during the critical years just prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early years

Stewart was born in

Truxton, New York Truxton is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. The town is named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun, a privateer in the American Revolution and one of the US Navy's first commanding officers. ...

, but moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

with his parents when he was a boy. In 1838, Stewart moved to Buchanan County, Missouri. He made a fortune as a land speculator in the

Platte Purchase The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from American Indian tribes of the region. It comprised lands along the east bank of the Missouri River and added to the northwest corner of the state of Miss ...

area of Missouri, then settled in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

and opened a law practice. Stewart was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1845, and served as a member of the state senate for ten years. In 1856

Trusten Polk Trusten W. Polk (May 29, 1811April 16, 1876) served as the 12th Governor of Missouri in 1857 and U.S. Senator from 1857 to 1862. Biography Polk was born in Bridgeville, Delaware. A Democrat, he was elected Governor of Missouri in 1856 and ser ...

was elected as governor; and then U.S. Senator at the beginning of 1857. Polk opted for the Senate, and Stewart then ran for the governorship. He won the August election and was installed as governor in October 1857.

Governor

Governor Stewart championed the founding of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad in northern Missouri, which resulted in the creation of the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

and the rise of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

as a metropolitan region. He also had to deal with the Bloody Kansas border skirmishes of that time. When Stewart left office in January 1861, he urged Missouri to adopt an armed neutrality in the impending Civil War and not to provide men or arms to either side though his own preference was for preserving the Union. In his final message as governor, he said: : As matters are at present Missouri will stand by her lot, and hold to the Union as long as it is worth an effort to preserve it... In the mean time Missouri will hold herself in readiness, at any moment, to defend her soil from pollution and her property from plunder by fanatics and marauders, come from what quarter they may... She is able to take care of herself, and will be neither forced nor flattered, driven nor coaxed, into a course of action that must end in her own destruction.

Later years

Stewart's successor as governor,

Claiborne Jackson Claiborne Fox Jackson (April 4, 1806 – December 6, 1862) was an American politician of the Democratic Party in Missouri. He was elected as the 15th Governor of Missouri, serving from January 3, 1861, until July 31, 1861, when he was forc ...

, claimed to support the armed neutrality stance though he also stated that be believed Missouri's course was tied to the other slave states of the Confederacy. When Missouri was forced to take sides after Governor Jackson was removed from office by the Missouri State Convention in July 1861, Stewart attempted to join the Union army. However, his failing health kept him from any active service. On September 3, 1861, between 17 and 20 passengers died and 100 were injured when the

Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest. It is said to have carried the first letter to the Pony Express on April 3, ...

bridge over the

Platte River (Missouri River) The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 30, 2011 in southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri in the U ...

was sabotaged in the

Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy The Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy was a bushwhacker attack on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad during the American Civil War on September 3, 1861, in which the train derailed on a bridge over the Platte River east of St. Joseph, Missouri, ki ...

. Those responsible allegedly were attempting to assassinate Stewart. Stewart remained a bachelor all his life and was considered quite eccentric, including a famous instance of riding his horse into the governor's mansion. He died in

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

in 1871 and is interred in

Mount Mora Cemetery Mount Mora Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. Among those who are buried in the cemetery are three governors, a U.S. senator, soldiers from both sides in the American Civil War and riders of the Pony Express. In Octo ...

External links

USGennetMissouri Government archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Robert Marcellus 1815 births 1871 deaths People from Truxton, New York Democratic Party governors of Missouri People of Missouri in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians