Hugh Stirling resumed his duties as DuPont's chief carpenter after the war. He continued in this position until his retirement on 31 December 1876. He was replaced by his brother, John Q. Stirling (1822-1892), on 1 January 1877. Thomas J. Stirling (1848-1926) took over the job of head carpenter from his father in 1889. According to Thomas J. Stirling's memorandum book, Hugh Stirling died at his home on Friday, 11 May 1883, at 9:40 p.m. His death certificate stated that the cause of death was "convulsions" from "chronic albuminuria."
After the War
Sources
Papers Relating to John Q. and Thomas J. Stirling, Hagley M&A, Acc. 522
Lammot du Pont Papers, Hagley M&A, Acc. 384
Samuel Francis and Sophie Madeleine Du Pont Papers, Hagley M&A, WMSS 9
Alfred Victor du Pont Papers, Hagley M&A, LMSS 4-A
Charles I. du Pont & Co. Records, Hagley M&A, Acc. 500 / 501
U.S. Census Records, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, DE, 1860
U.S. Census Records, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, DE, 1870
U.S. Census Records, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, DE, 1880
Delaware Death Records, 1811-1933, Delaware Vital Records, Delaware State Archives, Dover
Official Record of the War of the Rebellion (OR Army)
Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Volume III, Regimental Histories(New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959)
Norman B. Wilkinson, The Brandywine Home Front During the Civil War, 1861-1865(Wilmington, DE: Kaumagraph Company, 1966)
Norman B. Wilkinson, Lammot du Pont and the American Explosives Industry, 1850-1884(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984)