James Harvie Dew was born on October 18, 1843, in King and Queen County, Virginia, to Benjamin and Mary Dew. His father was a farmer and lawyer who owned $24,800 of real estate and $53,970 of personal property by 1860. Dew grew up and attended school in King and Queen County, and his mother probably died in the 1850s.

 

He enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in the early 1860s, but he reportedly left school after only two weeks. On December 18, 1861, he became a private in Company A of the 9^th Virginia Militia Infantry. He was promoted to sergeant soon afterwards. Then, on February 20, 1862, he mustered in as a private in Company H of the 9^th Virginia Cavalry.

 

The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Brandy Station. He fell ill in November 1862 and spent the following month at home recovering. He was wounded slightly at Brandy Station in June 1863, and Confederate officials transferred him to the Signal Corps.

 

After the war, Dew studied medicine at the University of Virginia, and he graduated in 1867. He then settled in New York City, where he served as a physician for the City Hospital. According to one early biographer, he rose to “eminence as a general practitioner and obstetrician.” In 1872, he became professor of anatomy, physiology, and hygiene in the New York Evening High School. He married Bessie Martin around 1885, and their daughter Caroline was born around 1890. He remained in New York City for the rest of his life, and he died there on January 26, 1914.

 

Image: James Harvie Dew (University of Virginia: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics)

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