Representative Philip Stuart

Philip Stuart (1760 – August 14, 1830) was an American politician and soldier who represented the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Federalist Party, he served four consecutive terms in Congress during a formative period in the early republic, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his Maryland constituents.

Stuart was born in 1760 near Fredericksburg in the Virginia Colony. He completed his preparatory education there before relocating to Maryland. His early life unfolded against the backdrop of rising colonial unrest and the approach of the American Revolutionary War, circumstances that would soon draw him into military service and shape his subsequent public career.

During the American Revolutionary War, Stuart served as a lieutenant in the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons. In this capacity he took part in the southern campaigns of the war and was wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781, one of the last major engagements in the Carolinas. On November 9, 1782, he transferred to Baylor’s Dragoons, continuing his cavalry service as the conflict drew to a close. His Revolutionary War experience established his reputation as a veteran officer and laid the groundwork for his later roles in the nation’s military establishment.

In the years following independence, Stuart remained connected to military affairs. He was appointed a lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers in the United States Army on June 5, 1798, during a period of heightened tensions with France known as the Quasi-War. He served in that capacity until his resignation on November 15, 1800. He later returned to uniform during the War of 1812, again contributing to the nation’s defense at a time when the United States faced renewed conflict with Great Britain.

Stuart’s military background and standing in Maryland led to his election to national office. As a member of the Federalist Party representing Maryland, he was elected to the Twelfth Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1819. His four terms in Congress coincided with a significant period in American history that included the War of 1812 and the postwar debates over national finance, internal improvements, and the balance of power between the federal government and the states. In this context, Stuart contributed to the legislative process as part of the Federalist opposition during the waning years of the party’s influence on the national stage.

During his congressional service, Stuart maintained a residence in the nation’s capital. He owned a rowhouse at Wheat Row in Washington, D.C., a notable early residential development in the city that housed several members of the political community. His presence in Washington placed him at the center of federal policymaking during a period when the capital was still being physically and institutionally established.

After leaving Congress in 1819, Stuart withdrew from national office, and the record of his later activities is limited. He continued to reside in Washington, D.C., where he lived through the early decades of the nineteenth century as the city and the federal government expanded. He died in Washington, D.C., on August 14, 1830. In recognition of his service as both a soldier and a legislator, he was interred in the Congressional Cemetery, a burial ground closely associated with the early leaders of the United States.