William Robertson Garrett

Background

Garrett was born on April 12, 1839 in Williamsburg, Virginia, the son of Dr. Robert Major and Susan Comfort (Winder) Garrett.

Education

Garrett was a Phi Beta Kappa student at the College of William and Mary where in 1858 he received the M. A. degree. Following his graduation he studied law at the University of Virginia.

Career

Garrett's practice of law at Williamsburg was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War. He volunteered as a private in April 1861 and was shortly elected captain of the Williamsburg-Lee Artillery. In this capacity he served in the Peninsular campaign and fought in the battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862) with such bravery as to win the official commendation of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart and Gen. James Longstreet. Upon the expiration of his enlistment he assisted in raising a battalion of partisan rangers in middle Tennessee of which he was made adjutant. This battalion in 1863 became a part of the 11th Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry and served under Gen. Forrest, then under Gen. Wheeler, and again under Gen. Forrest. Garrett was promoted to the captaincy of Company B of this regiment in February 1865. A few weeks later he surrendered with it at Gainesville, Alabama. The remainder of his life was devoted to educational work. Returning to Williamsburg he became master of the grammar school of the College of William and Mary. In 1868 he removed to Giles County, Tennessee, where he began a five-year term as president of Giles College and principal of Cornersville Academy. He was successively superintendent of schools for Giles County (1873-1875), associate principal and professor of mathematics in Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville (1875-1891), state superintendent of public instruction (1891-1893), and principal of Garrett Military Academy (1893-1895). In 1895 he was appointed professor of American history and in 1899 dean of Peabody College for Teachers, holding both positions until his death. In the course of his long residence in Tennessee he became an increasingly important figure in the educational life of the state and of the South. He gave much time to the organization and development of teachers' institutes in middle Tennessee and was at various times president of the Tennessee State Teachers' Association, president of the Tennessee Public School Officers' Association, secretary of the Inter-State Teachers' Association, one of the editors of the Southwestern Journal of Education, and in 1891 president of the National Education Association. He organized the Watkins Institute Night School in Nashville, founded for the benefit of laboring men. In his later years his time was occupied with teaching and writing history. He edited the American Historical Magazine (devoted largely to Tennessee history) from its establishment in 1896 until Peabody College in 1902 discontinued support of it. Garrett died on February 12, 1904.

Achievements

• Garrett was an educator, who occupied various posts in educational institutions of the state of Tennessee and devoted most of his life to developing teachers' institutes in the state.

Connections

On November 12, 1868 Garrett married Julia Flournoy Batte of Pulaski.

Father:

Robert Major Garrett

Mother:

Susan Comfort Winder

Spouse:

Julia Flournoy Batte

References

• The military annals of Tennessee. Confederate. First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls
• The American Historical Magazine, Vol. 7: Representing the Chair of American History in the Peabody Normal College; January 1902 (Classic Reprint)