# Sumner Archibald Cunningham

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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sumner Archibald Cunningham
| image = Sumner Archibald Cunningham wmm.jpg
| caption = 
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1843|07|21}}
| birth_place = [Bedford County, Tennessee](/source/Bedford_County%2C_Tennessee), U.S.
| death_date = {{death-date and age|December 13, 1913|July 21, 1843}}
| death_place = [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee), U.S.
| resting_place = Willow Mount Cemetery, [Shelbyville, Tennessee](/source/Shelbyville%2C_Tennessee), U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| other_names = 
| known_for = 
| education =
| alma mater =
| employer = 
| occupation = Editor
| party = 
| spouse = Laura Davis
| children = 1 son, 1 daughter
| relatives = 
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = [Confederate States](/source/Confederate_States_of_America)
| branch = [Confederate States Army](/source/Confederate_States_Army)
| service_years = 1861–1865
}}
}}
thumb|Wartime photograph of Cunningham
'''Sumner Archibald Cunningham''' (July 21, 1843 – December 20, 1913) was an American Confederate soldier and journalist. He was the editor of a short lived Confederate magazine called "Our Day" (1883-1884) published in New York. In 1893 he established the ''[Confederate Veteran](/source/The_Confederate_Veteran)'', a bimonthly magazine about veterans of the [Confederate States Army](/source/Confederate_States_Army) until his death in 1913. He was a critic of Reconstruction, "scalawags", "carpetbaggers", and "Negro" legislators.

==Early life==
Sumner Archibald Cunningham was born on July 21, 1843, in [Bedford County, Tennessee](/source/Bedford_County%2C_Tennessee).<ref name="goffjstorarticle">{{cite journal |last=Goff |first=Reda C. |title=The Confederate Veteran Magazine |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=45–60 |jstor=42623281 | date = Spring 1972 }}</ref><ref name=encyclopediabio>{{cite web|last1=Simpson|first1=John A.|title=Sumner A. Cunningham|url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=346|website=The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture|publisher=Tennessee Historical Society & [University of Tennessee Press](/source/University_of_Tennessee_Press)|accessdate=December 14, 2015|date=December 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name=uncpapers>{{cite web|title=Collection Title: Sumner Archibald Cunningham Papers, 1891&ndash;1945.|url=http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/c/Cunningham,Sumner_Archibald.html|website=The Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library|publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|accessdate=December 14, 2015}}</ref> His father was John Washington Campbell Cunningham and his mother, Mary A. Buchanan.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> His family owned slaves.<ref name="simpson25">{{cite book|last1=Simpson|first1=John A.|title=Edith D. Pope and Her Nashville Friends: Guards of the Lost Cause in the Confederate Veteran|date=2003|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|location=Knoxville, Tennessee|isbn=9781572332119|oclc=428118511|pages=25–26; 38–39}}</ref>

During the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) of 1861&ndash;1865, Cunningham served in the [Confederate States Army](/source/Confederate_States_Army).<ref name="simpson25"/> He was stationed at [Camp Trousdale](/source/Camp_Trousdale) in [Portland, Tennessee](/source/Portland%2C_Tennessee), until he was captured by Union forces in the [Battle of Fort Donelson](/source/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson) and imprisoned at [Camp Morton](/source/Camp_Morton) in [Indianapolis](/source/Indianapolis).<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> After he was released in exchange of other prisoners in [Vicksburg, Mississippi](/source/Vicksburg%2C_Mississippi), he fought in the [Battle of Chickamauga](/source/Battle_of_Chickamauga) on September 18–20, 1863, the [Battle of Missionary Ridge](/source/Battle_of_Missionary_Ridge) on November 25, 1863, and the [Battle of Franklin](/source/Battle_of_Franklin_(1864)) on November 30, 1864.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/><ref name=encyclopediabio/> He became a sergeant-major, but left the CSA after the [Battle of Nashville](/source/Battle_of_Nashville) on December 15–16, 1864.<ref name="simpson25"/>

==Career==
Cunningham moved to [Shelbyville, Tennessee](/source/Shelbyville%2C_Tennessee), where he worked as a "dry good merchant."<ref name="simpson25"/> He also managed a bookstore in Shelbyville.<ref name="nostalgiaforanickel">{{cite journal |last=Evans |first=Josephine King |title=Nostalgia for a Nickel: The "Confederate Veteran" |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=238–244 |jstor=42626824 | date = Winter 1989 }}</ref> In 1871, he authored ''Reminiscences of the Forty-first Tennessee Infantry''.<ref name="simpson25"/> That year, he purchased ''The Shelbyville Commercial'', a newspaper in Shelbyville, and served as its editor,<ref name="simpson25"/> as he did with the ''Rural Sun'', a Nashville newspaper, in 1874–1875.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> By 1876, he purchased ''[The Chattanooga Times](/source/Chattanooga_Times_Free_Press)'', the main newspaper in [Chattanooga, Tennessee](/source/Chattanooga%2C_Tennessee), and edited it.<ref name="simpson25"/> By 1878, Cunningham "leased" it to [Adolph Ochs](/source/Adolph_Ochs), who purchased it in 1880.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> Cunningham purchased and edited ''The Cartersville Express'', a newspaper in [Cartersville, Georgia](/source/Cartersville%2C_Georgia), in 1879.<ref name="simpson25"/> In 1883, he founded ''Our Day'', a newspaper published in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) whose target readership was Southerners,<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> but it failed by 1885.<ref name=encyclopediabio/> He became a journalist for ''[The Nashville American](/source/The_Tennessean)'', serving as a correspondent from 1885 to 1892.<ref name="simpson25"/>

Cunningham founded ''[The Confederate Veteran](/source/The_Confederate_Veteran)'' in 1893 in [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee).<ref name=uncpapers/><ref name="davidj284">[David J. Eicher](/source/David_J._Eicher), ''Dixie Betrayed: How the South Really Lost the Civil War'', New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2006, p. 284</ref> Initially, it was a fundraising newsletter for the construction of a monument in honor of [Jefferson Davis](/source/Jefferson_Davis), the president of the [Confederate States of America](/source/Confederate_States_of_America), in [Richmond, Virginia](/source/Richmond%2C_Virginia).<ref name="simpson25"/> Over the years, it became "one of the [New South](/source/New_South)'s most influential monthlies" and made Cunningham a leader of the [Lost Cause](/source/Lost_Cause) movement.<ref name=encyclopediabio/>

Cunningham attended meetings of the executive committee of the [United Confederate Veterans](/source/United_Confederate_Veterans), as he did for example in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky) in 1903.<ref name="sacunninghamreturns">{{cite news|title=S. A. Cunningham Returns. Invitation To U. C. V. Backed by Commercial Organizations. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118990359/?terms=%22S.%2BA.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=November 19, 1903 |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> Additionally, he encouraged the co-founders of the [United Daughters of the Confederacy](/source/United_Daughters_of_the_Confederacy) (UDC), [Caroline Meriwether Goodlett](/source/Caroline_Meriwether_Goodlett) and Anna Raines, to make up after Raines complained Goodlett had taken over.<ref name="cox13">{{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=Karen L.|title=Dixie's Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/dixiesdaughtersu00coxk|url-access=limited|date=2003|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=9780813026251|page=[https://archive.org/details/dixiesdaughtersu00coxk/page/n43 23]}}</ref>
thumb|right|The Sam Davis Statue
Cunningham attended the dedication of the [Confederate Monument](/source/Confederate_Monument_in_Owensboro) in [Owensboro, Kentucky](/source/Owensboro%2C_Kentucky) in September 1900.<ref>Joseph Brent, Confederate Monument in Owensboro NRHP Nomination Form (Kentucky Heritage Commission, 1997) p.1</ref> On April 29, 1909, he attended the dedication of the [Sam Davis Statue](/source/Sam_Davis_Statue) outside the [Tennessee State Capitol](/source/Tennessee_State_Capitol) in Nashville; it was Cunningham who had suggested its commission.<ref name="speechofpresentation">{{cite news|title=Speech of Presentation. Maj. Lewis Delivers Trust of Monument Commission. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119212127/?terms=%22S.%2BA.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=April 30, 1909 |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> In 1913, he was responsible for the construction of [a sculpture](/source/Colonel_Richard_Owen_(bust)) of Union veteran [Richard Owen](/source/Richard_Owen_(geologist)) to the [Indiana Capitol](/source/Indiana_State_House) in [Indianapolis](/source/Indianapolis), [Indiana](/source/Indiana); Cunningham was praised for his willingness to celebrate a Union veteran.<ref name="hightribute">{{cite news|title=High Tribute Is Paid The Confederate Veteran Editor. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119366464/?terms=%22S.A.%2BCunningham |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=May 18, 1913 |page=18 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> Meanwhile, he was working on a monument to [Dan Emmett](/source/Dan_Emmett), the songwriter of "[Dixie](/source/Dixie_(song))" by the time of his death.<ref name=encyclopediabio/> He also served on the committee for the construction of the [Jefferson Davis State Historic Site](/source/Jefferson_Davis_State_Historic_Site) in [Fairview, Kentucky](/source/Fairview%2C_Christian_County%2C_Kentucky), but he died before it was erected.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/>

Cunningham's portrait was painted by [Cornelius Hankins](/source/Cornelius_Hankins).<ref name="nostalgiaforanickel"/>

==Personal life==
Cunningham married to Laura Davis on November 27, 1866.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/> They had a son, Paul Davis Cunningham, who drowned in the [Rio Grande River](/source/Rio_Grande_River) while surveying the border between the United States and Mexico in his role as an engineer for the United States Army.<ref name="editorandauthordead">{{cite news|title=Editor and Author Dead. S.A. Cunningham Dies At St. Thomas Hospital After Brief Illness. Stricken Wednesday. Funeral Services This Afternoon--Interment at Shelbyville, Childhood Home. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119366464/?terms=%22S.A.%2BCunningham |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=December 21, 1913 |page=2 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name="drowned">{{cite news|title=Drowned. Paul D. Cunningham Meets Death in Rapids of the Rio Grande. Skiff Was Overturned. The Sad Fatality Occurs Fifty Miles From Eagle Pass. Well Known Here. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118787885/?terms=%22S.A.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=July 15, 1901 |page=1 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> He also had a daughter, who died as an infant.<ref name="editorandauthordead"/> His wife predeceased him in 1879.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/>

==Death and legacy==
Cunningham died of nose haemorrhage on December 13, 1913, at [Saint Thomas Hospital](/source/Saint_Thomas_-_West_Hospital) in Nashville, Tennessee.<ref name=encyclopediabio/><ref name=uncpapers/> His funeral was held at the [First Presbyterian Church](/source/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Nashville%2C_Tennessee)) in Nashville.<ref name="editorandauthordead"/> Pallbearers included generals [Bennett H. Young](/source/Bennett_H._Young), [Virgil Young Cook](/source/Virgil_Young_Cook), and [John P. Hickman](/source/John_P._Hickman).<ref name="editorandauthordead"/> He was buried at the Willow Mount Cemetery in Shelbyville, Tennessee.<ref name="laidtorestat">{{cite news|title=S. A. Cunningham Laid To Rest At Old Home. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119368018/?terms=%22S.A.%2BCunningham|newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=December 23, 1913 |page=11 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

By January 1914, the Nashville and Tennessee chapters of the [United Daughters of the Confederacy](/source/United_Daughters_of_the_Confederacy) passed a resolution in honor of Cunningham.<ref name="resolution">{{cite news|title=Pay Tribute To S. A. Cunningham: State and Local Daughters of the Confederacy Pass Resolutions. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119375403/?terms=%22Sumner%2BArchibald%2BCunningham |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=January 8, 1914 |page=11 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> Meanwhile, in May 1914, he was honored at their annual convention.<ref name="tributesto">{{cite news|title=Tributes To S. A. Cunningham: Memorial Exercises Feature of Program of U.D.C. Convention |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119368018/?terms=%22S.A.%2BCunningham|newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=May 15, 1914 |page=8 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

In 1915, a memorial museum of Confederate veterans named in honor of Cunningham was considered.<ref name="toraise10">{{cite news|title=To Raise $10,000 For Memorial To S. A. Cunningham. Address to Various Confederate Organizations Is Issued by Committee. Want Fireproof Building. Upon Walls Will Be Hung Pictures of Confederate Generals and Others. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121851184/?terms=%22S.%2BA.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=September 2, 1915 |page=3 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> A fundraising campaign of US$10,000 was launched for a fireproof building.<ref name="toraise10"/> However, the project failed due to lack of funds, despite renewed appeals in 1916 and 1917.<ref name="needmoremoney">{{cite news|title=Need More Money For Memorial Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118971077/?terms=%22S.%2BA.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=August 13, 1916 |page=5 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name="workofraisingfunds">{{cite news|title=Work of Raising Funds To Be Pushed. Meeting of Confederate Organization Called in Interest of Cunningham Memorial. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119218526/?terms=%22S.%2BA.%2BCunningham%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=October 9, 1917 |page=6 |via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = December 14, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>

On October 28, 1921, a bronze and granite monument designed by Italian sculptor [Giuseppe Moretti](/source/Giuseppe_Moretti) was added to Cunningham's grave in Shelbyville.<ref name="goffjstorarticle"/><ref name="simpson25"/> The Nashville chapter of the UDC endowed the ''S. A. Cunningham Scholarship'' at [Peabody College](/source/Peabody_College) (now [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University)) in his memory.<ref name="simpson25"/>

Cunningham was succeeded as editor of ''The Confederate Veteran'' by [Edith D. Pope](/source/Edith_D._Pope).<ref name=uncpapers/> His papers are held at the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library on the campus of the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill).<ref name=uncpapers/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last1=Simpson|first1=John A.|title=S.A. Cunningham & the Confederate Heritage|date=1994|publisher=University of Georgia Press|location=Athens, Georgia|isbn=9780820315706|oclc=27813718|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sacunninghamconf00simp}}

{{Portal bar|American Civil War|Biography|Journalism|Tennessee}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Sumner Archibald}}
Category:1843 births
Category:1913 deaths
Category:19th-century American newspaper founders
Category:American magazine editors
Category:American newspaper editors
Category:American newspaper executives
Category:Businesspeople from Tennessee
Category:Confederate States Army officers
Category:People from Bedford County, Tennessee
Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:People of Tennessee in the American Civil War
Category:Neo-Confederates

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sumner Archibald Cunningham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Archibald_Cunningham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Archibald_Cunningham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.