Dr. Stephen Vaughan Ash
November 22, 1948 – October 11, 2021
Dr. Stephen V. Ash, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War, mentor to graduate students at the University of Tennessee where he taught history until retiring, and friend to many outside the UT community, died at home October 11, 2021. At the time of his death, Dr. Ernest Freeberg, UT history department head, wrote in a message to the history department faculty, staff, students and friends, that Stephen was among the department’s most popular and successful teachers. He received the UT Alexander Prize for Distinguished Research and Teaching and the college’s Lorayne Lester Award for Faculty Excellence. The department has announced that an endowed fund is being established to recognize his devotion to the success of his graduate students. The Stephen V. Ash Graduate Research Fund will support students conducting research in U.S. archives.
Steve was born in El Centro, California, on Nov. 22, 1948, and went to Pennsylvania to study at Gettysburg College, adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park, where he worked as a guide. He met his future wife, Jean Cumming, at the college, from which he received a bachelor’s in 1970. After Steve and Jean married in 1970, they came to Knoxville for him to study history as a graduate student at UT. He received a master’s in 1974, a doctorate in 1983 and then began teaching in 1990. When he retired, he was a full professor with emeritus standing.
Steve published several paperbacks on subjects of interest to Knoxvillians. They included “Meet Me at the Fair,” about the Tennessee Valley Fair, and “A History of Front Pages,” on the Knoxville News Sentinel. His books on the Civil War, African-American history, and the history of Tennessee were: A Year in the South: Four Lives in 1865; Firebrands of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments in the Civil War; A Massacre in Memphis: The Race Riot that Shook the Nation One Year After the Civil War; and most recently, Rebel Richmond: Life and Death in the Confederate Capital.
Steve’s human side was shown in his love of kitties, which he would pet frequently, sitting in a reclining chair while they were in his lap. He was partial to Clio, a stray brought to the Ash household and which lived to age 21. He also enjoyed working New York Times crossword puzzles, which he consistently solved quickly.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the University of Tennessee History Department, with Stephen V. Ash on the “for” line, and sent to 915 Volunteer Boulevard, 2618 Dunford Hall, Knoxville TN 37996-4065, or in memory of Stephen V. Ash to The Gettysburg Fund, Gettysburg Foundation, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg,17325