School teacher Peter Stuart Ney died on November 15, 1846 in Rowan County. He was part of a great legend that ended with a deathbed confession that he was Napoleon’s right-hand man.
It was said that Marshal Michel Ney escaped a firing squad in 1815 and managed to make his way to America.
It is said that Peter Stuart Ney told those around him βI will not die with a lie on my lips, I am Marshal Ney of France.β Legend has it that he denied being Marshal Ney except for when he’d had too much to drink. A former student published a story about him in 1856.
However, researcher William Henry Hoyt found evidence that Marshal Ney was executed. He also found an application for citizenship by Peter Stuart Ney in 1820 in South Carolina and baptism records in Scotland.
The grave marker for Ney at Third Creek Presbyterian Church in the town of Cleveland reads:
βIn memory of Peter Stuart Ney/ A native of France and soldier of the French Revolution under Napoleon Bonaparte/ Who departed this life November 15th, 1846/ Aged 77 years.β
Marshal Ney was one of 18 men to attain the rank of Marshal (the equivalent of general in the U.S. Army) under Napoleon and was one of his most trusted officers. He was wounded in Russia in 1812 and the last man to leave Russian soil in the infamous retreat.
After Napoleon lost power, he served the French army again, but returned to command when Napoleon returned to power. He was captured at Waterloo and records say he was shot by firing squad in December 1815.
However, legend says that Peter Stuart Ney arrived in America in January 1816 and had to keep moving around because he kept being recognized as one of Napoleon’s officers.
It was said he had numerous scars consistent with battle wounds and that his handwriting matched samples of Marshal Ney. He often made notes of inaccuracies in textbooks about Napoleon.
I have to admit I love storie/legends/conspiracies like this, and the challenge presented to prove or this prove this one.
Sources:
N.C. Dept. of Cultural Resources
Atlas Obscura