John Brevard Alexander was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C., on May 27, 1834, the son of Robert Davidson and Abigail Bain Caldwell Alexander. He graduated from Davidson College with high honors in 1852 and from the Medical College of South Carolina at the top of his class in 1855.
During the Civil War, Alexander served as a sergeant and assistant surgeon in the Thirty-seventh North Carolina Infantry, but he resigned on May 16, 1863 because of "a bilious attack" and "acute dysentery." Later, on November 6, 1863, he was appointed surgeon in the Sixty-third Battalion of the North Carolina Militia for "home defence" [see North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, vol. 9 and folder 1:1]. Following the war, he returned to Mecklenburg County to resume his medical practice. He moved into Charlotte in 1890. Throughout his career he also managed a drugstore until failing health required him to retire in 1898.
From the description of Papers, 1855-1905. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 47841870
