Alexander Ferdinand Mathews

Alexander F. Mathews

Personal details
Born	November 13, 1838 Lewisburg, Virginia
Died	December 17, 1906 (aged 68) Lewisburg, West Virginia
Spouse(s)	Laura Maud Gardner
Relations	Mathews family
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Profession	lawyer, banker, financier
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Years of service	1861-1865
Rank	Captain Assistant Commissary of Subsistence Inspector of Conscription for the 8th Congressional District of Virginia
Unit	59th Virginia Infantry 1861-1863

Alexander Ferdinand Mathews (November 13, 1838 - December 17, 1906) was an American businessman from Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia), having founded one of the first banks in the state. He was a Confederate States Army officer during the American Civil War, serving as aide-de-camp to General Henry A. Wise, and afterward a member of the West Virginia University Board of Regents during that institution's early expansion.

Alexander F. Mathews born on November 13, 1838 in Frankford, Greenbrier County, Virginia to Eliza (née Reynolds) and Mason Mathews. He enrolled in the University of Virginia in 1854 at the age of fifteen, earning a Masters of Arts at the university in two years. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He returned to the University of Virginia School of Law in 1857, and in the same year was admitted to the bar.

Mathews volunteered for the Confederate States Army on the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. He was assigned to the 59th Virginia Infantry and received a commission of captain despite having no formal military training. Additionally, he served as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Henry A. Wise during Wise's early campaigns. He was relieved from duty with the 59th Virginia Infantry on June 22, 1863 and was appointed Inspector of Conscription for the 8th Congressional District of Virginia for the remainder of the war.