Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. The university was founded by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and received its Tennessee State charter in 1843. In 1852 the Cumberland Presbyterian church leaders added a law school, the first in Tennessee and the first west of the Appalachian Mountains, and in 1854 a school of theology was begun. The original building, designed by Philadelphia architect William Strickland, housed schools of art, law and theology. It was was burned by the Union Army during the American Civil War. Following, the university was briefly host to famed Confederate general A. P. Stewart. He taught there during his post-Civil War Union parole. From its early years, Cumberland University maintained a reputation for high-quality education. The Cumberland School of Law at one time was said to have had more of its alumni elected to Congress than any other in the South. The American Civil War nearly destroyed Cumberland University.