Sandie Pendleton

Alexander Swift Pendleton (September 28, 1840 – September 23, 1864) was an officer on the staff of Confederate Generals Thomas J. Jackson, Richard S. Ewell and Jubal A. Early during the American Civil War. Early life and career Sandie Pendleton was born in Alexandria, D.C. which is now Alexandria, Virginia, the only son of Episcopal priest and future Confederate General William N. Pendleton and his wife Anzolette Elizabeth Page. His father was the first principal of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, but left in 1844 to establish a private school for boys near Baltimore, Maryland as well as serve as rector of two nearby parishes. Between 1847 and 1853, the Pendleton family lived in Frederick, Maryland while Rev. Pendleton served at All Saints Church (Frederick, Maryland). Sandie studied at a private school for boys, since his parents thought that as the only boy in a household of girls and delicate in health, he needed association with other boys to develop manly qualities, although Sandie also experienced bullying there because of those same issues. When Sandie was 13, the family moved to Lexington, Virginia, because of the free tuition available at Washington College to ministers' sons, as well as because Latimer Parish (Grace Episcopal Church) offered Rev. Pendleton a job and he thought he could also supplement his income by opening a boarding school for younger boys. Sandie Pendleton completed the course of studies at Washington College in three years, during which he met Maj. Thomas Jackson (later nicknamed Stonewall) of the VMI faculty through the Graham literary society. Sandie graduated at the top of his class in 1857 and delivered the commencement address on the character of Virginia exemplified in the patriots of 1776 such as his ancestors. Along with intellect, honor, and a spirit of independence, Pendleton extolled "a firm adherence to right, and a reverence for the wise and holy ruler of the universe." Sandie Pendleton remained in Lexington for the next two years, teaching mathematics and Latin at his alma mater, as well as helping his father at the school for boys and visiting relatives in Eastern Virginia. By 1859, Sandie Pendleton had earned enough money to begin studies at the University of Virginia.