Richard Sprigg Steuart
Encyclopedia
Dr. Richard Sprigg Steuart (1797–1876) was a Maryland
physician and an early pioneer of the treatment of mental illness. He was instrumental in the expansion and modernisation of The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, now known as the Spring Grove Hospital Center
, which became his life's work. Spring Grove continues to treat mental illness today, and is the second oldest institution of its kind in the United States. Steuart was relieved of his position as superintendent of the hospital at the start of the American Civil War
, because he refused to sign an oath of loyalty to the Union, but he was reinstated at the war's end, and remained superintendent almost until his death in 1876.
, at the age of seventeen, Steuart volunteered his assistance as aide-de-camp to the Washington Blues
, a company of militia raised and commanded by his older brother, Captain (later Major General) George H. Steuart (1790–1867), and served at the Battle of North Point
on September 12, 1814, where the Maryland Militia were able to hold off a British attack long enough to shore up the defence of Baltimore. As he later recalled in his memoirs:
, who had commanded the United States
forces at the Battle of Bladensberg and was court-martialled afterwards. However, Steuart abandoned law in favor of medicine, which he studied under Dr William Donaldson in 1818 at Maryland Medical University
. He graduated with his M.D. in 1822, publishing in the same year a work On the Action of Arteries. After graduation he went into partnership with Donaldson at his general medical practice in Baltimore for seventeen years and, after Donaldson's death, succeeded to the practice. Early on however he began to specialize in the relatively neglected field of mental illness, and in 1834 he became President of the Board of Visitors of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane.
In 1843 Steuart was elected to the Professorship of the Theory and Practice of Physic at the University of Maryland. Later, in 1848-49, and again from 1850–51, he served as president of the Medical and Chirurgical faculty of the State of Maryland.
By 1853 he was described by the American Journal of Medical Sciences as "well known as one of the most eminent physicians of this city [of Baltimore]",
Steuart's most notable contribution to the field of mental illness was his work for the Maryland Hospital for the Insane (originally founded in 1797), where he became President of the Board and Medical Superintendent, and which became his life's work. By the mid-nineteenth century The hospital's bed capacity was no longer adequate, and Steuart managed to obtain authorization and funding from the Maryland General Assembly
for the construction of a new, larger facility at Spring Grove. In co-operation with the social reformer Dorothea Dix
, who in 1852 gave an impassioned speech to the Maryland legislature, Steuart chaired the committee known as the Commissioners for Erecting a Hospital for the Insane, that selected the Hospital's present site in Catonsville.
The cost of purchasing 136 acre (0.55037296 km²) of land for the hospital was $14,000, of which $12,340 was raised through private contributions, with Steuart himself personally contributing $1,000, a very large sum at the time. The purchase was completed in 1853, but construction of the new buildings was delayed by the Civil War, and the hospital was not finally completed until 1872, when it was described by one contemporary as "one of the largest and best appointed Insane Asylums in the United States".
Steuart's brother, Major General George H. Steuart, had two sons who suffered from mental illness, and it is possible that this was one of the causes of Steuart's particular interest in Spring Grove Hospital and the treatment of mental illness.
In 1842 Steuart inherited from his uncle William Steuart
a tobacco plantation comprising around 1600 acres (6.5 km²) of land and about 150 slaves, at Dodon
, near the South River
in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Dodon had been purchased by Steuart's grandfather in around 1740, and the inheritance made Steuart a wealthy landowner and slaveholder. As a result, Steuart gave up his general medical practice, after what he described as "23 years of hard professional life" in order to concentrate on managing his new estate.
Like many Southern slaveholders, Steuart held conflicting views on the question of slavery
. Although he recognized that the South's "peculiar institution
" could not continue indefinitely, he was hostile to Abolitionist efforts to end it by force.
From 1828 Steuart served on the Board of Managers of the Maryland State Colonization Society
, of which Charles Carroll of Carrollton
, one of the co-signers of the Declaration of Independence
, was president. Steuart's father, James Steuart, was vice-president, and his brother George H. Steuart was also on the Board. The MSCS was a branch of the American Colonization Society
, an organization dedicated to returning black Americans to lead free lives in African states such as Liberia
.
In an open letter to John Carey in 1845, published in Baltimore
by the printer John Murphy
, Steuart asked rhetorically:
Steuart was envious of the greater relative prosperity of the Northern States, and especially their much greater population growth. In Maryland, he argued, slavery held back economic progress:
Much though he may have opposed the institution of slavery in principle, Steuart was strongly opposed to the radical agenda of the Abolitionists. Instead, he recommended voluntary emancipation
by the slave holders, leading to the repatriation to Africa of free black settlers:
, as Union soldiers travelled through the city by rail. Steuart wrote:
, after which much of his family's property was confiscated by the Federal Government. The family's Baltimore residence, Maryland Square, was seized by the Union Army
and Jarvis Hospital
was soon erected on the grounds of the estate, to care for Federal wounded.
Dodon was not confiscated by the Union but, during the course of the war, horses were raised and trained and then smuggled south for Confederate
forces, as well as medical supplies such as quinine
. As a result, Dodon was often raided by Union troops, frequently forcing Steuart to flee into hiding. According a family memoir:
Steuart's support for the Confederacy came at a high price. He was relieved of his duties at the Hospital after he refused to sign an oath of loyalty to the Union. Later that year, the Baltimore resident W W Glenn described Steuart as a fugitive from the authorities:
He gave an address in 1876 to the Alumni Association of Maryland Medical University, but died the same year on July 13, and is buried at his family estate of Dodon
in Maryland
.
On January 25, 1824 Steuart married Maria Louisa Bernabeu (1800–1883). They had nine children, of whom six survived to adulthood:
bears his name.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
physician and an early pioneer of the treatment of mental illness. He was instrumental in the expansion and modernisation of The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, now known as the Spring Grove Hospital Center
Spring Grove Hospital Center
Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland suburb of Catonsville....
, which became his life's work. Spring Grove continues to treat mental illness today, and is the second oldest institution of its kind in the United States. Steuart was relieved of his position as superintendent of the hospital at the start of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, because he refused to sign an oath of loyalty to the Union, but he was reinstated at the war's end, and remained superintendent almost until his death in 1876.
Early life
Steuart was born in Baltimore in November 1797, younger son of the physician Dr James Steuart and his wife Rebecca. He was the fourth of eight siblings, of whom two died in infancy, of scarlet fever. He was raised at the family mansion at Maryland Square and educated at St Mary's College, Baltimore.War of 1812
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, at the age of seventeen, Steuart volunteered his assistance as aide-de-camp to the Washington Blues
Washington Blues
The Washington Blues were a company of Maryland Volunteers which saw action during the Battle of Bladensberg and the Battle of North Point, during the War of 1812.-History:When war broke out between the United States and Great Britain, George H...
, a company of militia raised and commanded by his older brother, Captain (later Major General) George H. Steuart (1790–1867), and served at the Battle of North Point
Battle of North Point
The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although tactically a British victory, the battle delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying valuable time for the defense of...
on September 12, 1814, where the Maryland Militia were able to hold off a British attack long enough to shore up the defence of Baltimore. As he later recalled in his memoirs:
- "I found my little knowledge of surgery very useful. One of the soldiers had been shot through the thigh wounding the femoral artory, so...I made a tourniquet, arresting the flow of blood, to place him in my wagon and bring him to the Maryland hospital. Here surgeon Gibson received him and finally amputated his leg."
Medical career
After the war, Steuart began the study of law under Brigadier General William H. WinderWilliam H. Winder
William Henry Winder was an American soldier and a Maryland lawyer. He was a controversial general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812....
, who had commanded the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces at the Battle of Bladensberg and was court-martialled afterwards. However, Steuart abandoned law in favor of medicine, which he studied under Dr William Donaldson in 1818 at Maryland Medical University
University of Maryland Medical Center
The University of Maryland Medical Center is a teaching hospital with 705 beds based in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides the full range of health care to people throughout Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region. It gets more than 35,000 inpatient admissions and 165,000 outpatient visits each year...
. He graduated with his M.D. in 1822, publishing in the same year a work On the Action of Arteries. After graduation he went into partnership with Donaldson at his general medical practice in Baltimore for seventeen years and, after Donaldson's death, succeeded to the practice. Early on however he began to specialize in the relatively neglected field of mental illness, and in 1834 he became President of the Board of Visitors of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane.
Spring Grove Hospital Center
Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland suburb of Catonsville....
In 1843 Steuart was elected to the Professorship of the Theory and Practice of Physic at the University of Maryland. Later, in 1848-49, and again from 1850–51, he served as president of the Medical and Chirurgical faculty of the State of Maryland.
By 1853 he was described by the American Journal of Medical Sciences as "well known as one of the most eminent physicians of this city [of Baltimore]",
Maryland Hospital for the Insane
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
for the construction of a new, larger facility at Spring Grove. In co-operation with the social reformer Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
, who in 1852 gave an impassioned speech to the Maryland legislature, Steuart chaired the committee known as the Commissioners for Erecting a Hospital for the Insane, that selected the Hospital's present site in Catonsville.
The cost of purchasing 136 acre (0.55037296 km²) of land for the hospital was $14,000, of which $12,340 was raised through private contributions, with Steuart himself personally contributing $1,000, a very large sum at the time. The purchase was completed in 1853, but construction of the new buildings was delayed by the Civil War, and the hospital was not finally completed until 1872, when it was described by one contemporary as "one of the largest and best appointed Insane Asylums in the United States".
Steuart's brother, Major General George H. Steuart, had two sons who suffered from mental illness, and it is possible that this was one of the causes of Steuart's particular interest in Spring Grove Hospital and the treatment of mental illness.
Tobacco planter and gentleman farmer
William Steuart (Mayor of Baltimore)
Lieutenant Colonel William Steuart was a wealthy planter in colonial Maryland, and Mayor of Baltimore from 1831 to 1832. He inherited the estate of Dodon in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, from his father, planter and politician George H. Steuart...
a tobacco plantation comprising around 1600 acres (6.5 km²) of land and about 150 slaves, at Dodon
Dodon
Dodon, is a farm and former tobacco plantation in Maryland, located near the South River about south west of Annapolis. Purchased in around 1744 by the planter and politician Dr George H. Steuart, it remains the home of Steuart's descendants to this day...
, near the South River
South River (Maryland)
The South River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in the United States.The South River is located south of the Severn River, east of the Patuxent River, and north of the West River and Rhode River, and drains to the Chesapeake Bay.It has a watershed area of ,...
in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Dodon had been purchased by Steuart's grandfather in around 1740, and the inheritance made Steuart a wealthy landowner and slaveholder. As a result, Steuart gave up his general medical practice, after what he described as "23 years of hard professional life" in order to concentrate on managing his new estate.
The problem of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Although he recognized that the South's "peculiar institution
Peculiar institution
" peculiar institution" was a euphemism for slavery and the economic ramifications of it in the American South. The meaning of "peculiar" in this expression is "one's own", that is, referring to something distinctive to or characteristic of a particular place or people...
" could not continue indefinitely, he was hostile to Abolitionist efforts to end it by force.
From 1828 Steuart served on the Board of Managers of the Maryland State Colonization Society
Maryland State Colonization Society
The Maryland State Colonization Society was the Maryland branch of the American Colonization Society, an organization founded in 1816 with the purpose of returning free African Americans to what many Southerners considered greater freedom in Africa. The ACS helped to found the colony of Liberia in...
, of which Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, one of the co-signers of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, was president. Steuart's father, James Steuart, was vice-president, and his brother George H. Steuart was also on the Board. The MSCS was a branch of the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, an organization dedicated to returning black Americans to lead free lives in African states such as Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
.
In an open letter to John Carey in 1845, published in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
by the printer John Murphy
John Murphy
-In politics:*John Murphy , American Democratic Governor and Congressman from Alabama*John Murphy , Member of the UK Parliament for East Kerry, 1900–1910*John W...
, Steuart asked rhetorically:
- "is there a man in Maryland, is there a single man connected with slavery who does not feel its existence to be a curse upon our beautiful land? Is there one who has not many a time...expressed a fond hope that he might live to witness...the entire exodus of the negro race from among us? If there is such a man, I have never met with him here...indeed it is impossible for a man of sound judgment and feelings...to behold the power and prosperity of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
...in comparison with our own state, and not feel the deepest regret for our deficiencies."
Steuart was envious of the greater relative prosperity of the Northern States, and especially their much greater population growth. In Maryland, he argued, slavery held back economic progress:
- "It is a matter of common observation that white laborers will not settle where slaves occupy the soil, however partially they may do so among free negroes. The white man shrinks from a union of labor with those who are regarded by their masters as an inferior race, and gradually he comes to regard labor itself as degrading, and fit only for those whom heaven has stamped with a color darker than his own."
Much though he may have opposed the institution of slavery in principle, Steuart was strongly opposed to the radical agenda of the Abolitionists. Instead, he recommended voluntary emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
by the slave holders, leading to the repatriation to Africa of free black settlers:
- "The colored man [must] look to Africa, as his only hope of preservation and of happiness...it will be found that this course of procedure...will...secure the removal of the great body of the African people from our State. The President of the Maryland Colonization SocietyMaryland State Colonization SocietyThe Maryland State Colonization Society was the Maryland branch of the American Colonization Society, an organization founded in 1816 with the purpose of returning free African Americans to what many Southerners considered greater freedom in Africa. The ACS helped to found the colony of Liberia in...
says "the object of Colonization is to prepare a home in Africa for the free colored people of the State, to which they may remove when the advantages which it offers, and above all the pressure of irresistible circumstances in this country, shall excite them to emigrate."
Civil War
The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 found Steuart and his family sympathetic to the Southern cause, though Maryland did not secede from the Union. Pre-war loyalties in Maryland were divided between North and South, but the Northern cause prevailed. In April, the city was shaken by the Baltimore riot of 1861Baltimore riot of 1861
The Baltimore riot of 1861 was an incident that took place on April 19, 1861, in Baltimore, Maryland between Confederate sympathizers and members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington for Federal service...
, as Union soldiers travelled through the city by rail. Steuart wrote:
- "I happened to be in Baltimore on the night of the 19th April 1861, and witnessed the outburst of feeling on the part of the people. Generally, when the Massachusetts troops were passing thru the city of Baltimore, it was evident to me that 75 p.c. of the population was in favour of repelling these troops. Instinctively the people seemed to look upon them as intruders, or as invaders of the South, not as defenders of the City of Baltimore. How or by whom the first blow was given can not be now ascertained, but the feeling of resistance was contagious and powerful. The Mayor of the City, nevertheless, thought it his duty to keep the peace and protect these troops in their passage thru Baltimore."
Fugitive
The political situation remained uncertain until May 13, 1861 when Union troops occupied the state, restoring order and preventing a vote in favour of Southern secession, and by late summer Maryland was firmly in the hands of Union soldiers. Arrests of Confederate sympathizers soon followed, and Steuart's brother, Major General Steuart, fled to Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, after which much of his family's property was confiscated by the Federal Government. The family's Baltimore residence, Maryland Square, was seized by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
and Jarvis Hospital
Jarvis Hospital
Jarvis U.S. General Hospital was a military hospital founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1861, at the beginning of the American Civil War, for the care of wounded Federal soldiers. The hospital was built on the grounds of Maryland Square, the former residence of the Steuart family, which had been...
was soon erected on the grounds of the estate, to care for Federal wounded.
Dodon was not confiscated by the Union but, during the course of the war, horses were raised and trained and then smuggled south for Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces, as well as medical supplies such as quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
. As a result, Dodon was often raided by Union troops, frequently forcing Steuart to flee into hiding. According a family memoir:
- "Dr Steuart was constantly away from home, avoiding the raiding parties from the Northern soldiers who sought to capture him, because of the help he gave the South by secretly sending supplies of quinine, and other necessities...to the Southern hospitals. Wakened...in the dead of night, [his wife Maria] dressed quietly and...admitted the Northern soldiers, and then stealing past the sentries, walked half a mile to the 'quarters', and sent a trusty messenger to warn his master not to return. Old William Hawkins, when a soldier put a pistol to his head saying 'tell us where your master is', replied 'I'd rather be dead than tell'."
Steuart's support for the Confederacy came at a high price. He was relieved of his duties at the Hospital after he refused to sign an oath of loyalty to the Union. Later that year, the Baltimore resident W W Glenn described Steuart as a fugitive from the authorities:
- "I was spending the evening out when a footstep approached my chair from behind and a hand was laid upon me. I turned and saw Dr. R. S. Steuart. He has been concealed for more than six months. His neighbors are so bitter against him that he dare not go home, and he committed himself so decidedly on the 19th April and is known to be so decided a Southerner, that it more than likely he would be thrown into a Fort. He goes about from place to place, sometimes staying in one county, sometimes in another and then passing a few days in the city. He never shows in the day time & is cautious who sees him at any time. He has several negroes in his confidence at different places."
After the war
After the war, in 1868, Steuart was eventually reinstated to the hospital as superintendent, and remained in charge when its operations moved to the newly completed hospital at Spring Grove in 1872, thereby living to see the fulfillment of his life's work and ambition. However, he was once again removed in 1875 when the board, under his leadership, mortgaged the hospital to a group of private investors, after the Maryland Legislature had failed to fully fund its operations.He gave an address in 1876 to the Alumni Association of Maryland Medical University, but died the same year on July 13, and is buried at his family estate of Dodon
Dodon
Dodon, is a farm and former tobacco plantation in Maryland, located near the South River about south west of Annapolis. Purchased in around 1744 by the planter and politician Dr George H. Steuart, it remains the home of Steuart's descendants to this day...
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Family
- Dr James Aloysius Steuart (1828–1903). His daughter, Maria Louisa Steuart (1852–1938) painted her grandfather's portrait.
- John Baptiste de Bernabeu Steuart (1831–1877)
- William Donaldson Steuart (1834–1931)
- Emily Steuart (c1835-1905)
- Richard Sprigg Steuart Jr (1836–1920)
- Isabella Clara Steuart (1841–1921)
Legacy
Steuart's building at Spring Grove (known at various times as "The Main Building", "The Center Building" or "The Administration Building,") remained the main hospital facility for almost 100 years, though it was eventually demolished in 1963, when it was replaced by more modern construction. Spring Grove continues to treat psychiatric illness to this day, and is the second oldest institution of its kind in the United States. However, possibly because of Steuart's enthusiastic support for the Confederate "Lost Cause", no building at Spring Grove Hospital CenterSpring Grove Hospital Center
Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland suburb of Catonsville....
bears his name.
External links
- Official Dodon website and history of the estate Retrieved Jan 12 2010
- History of Spring Grove Hospital Center Retrieved Jan 12 2010
- Letter to John Carey by Richard Sprigg Steuart on the subject of slavery Retrieved Jan 12 2010