The 29th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of African American soldiers that mustered into Union service in March of 1864. They were ordered to Beaufort, South Carolina, in April and spent four months training there. The unit was involved in a number of engagements including the Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia, on 29 September 1864, and the occupation of Richmond, Virginia, in April 1865. Soldiers from the 29th were the first Union troops to enter the city after Confederate troops evacuated it. From late April through May of 1865, the 29th Regiment guarded Confederate prisoners of war at Point Lookout, Maryland. The unit was deployed to Texas briefly before mustering out in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 15, 1865.

Gordon W. Stewart (1837-?) enlisted on 22 May 1861 and was commissioned an officer in Company H of the 29th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry on 8 March 1864. He served as acting regimental quartermaster and was promoted to full captain on 12 May 1865. Stewart mustered out of service on 24 October 1865. He was married to Ella L. Stewart in approximately 1892. Additional biographical information is not available.