Gov. Zebulon Baird Vance (CSA), US Senate & House

https://docsouth.unc.edu/browse/bios/pn0001702_bio.html

Zebulon Baird Vance (13 May 1830-14 Apr. 1894 ), Confederate soldier, governor of North Carolina, congressman, and U.S. senator, was the third child and second son of David and Mira Baird Vance. He was born in the old homestead in Buncombe County, on Reems Creek, about twelve miles north of Asheville. After attending the neighborhood schools, he enrolled in 1843 (at age thirteen) in Washington College, near Jonesboro in eastern Tennessee, but withdrew the next year on the death of his father, who left a widow and seven children. In search of better educational opportunities Mrs. Vance moved to Asheville and put her children in school there. In 1850 Vance read law briefly under John W. Woodfin and in July 1851 arrived at The University of North Carolina to continue his legal studies. The next year, after being licensed to practice in the state's county courts, he returned to Asheville and was immediately elected solicitor for Buncombe County. In 1853 he was admitted to practice in the superior courts. Yet law never brought forth his best endeavors. For Vance law was primarily preparation for politics, which was his passion. Success in the courtroom was usually the result of wit, humor, boisterous eloquence, and clever retorts, not knowledge of the law. He understood people better than he did judicial matters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebulon_Baird_Vance

Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was a Confederate military officer in the American Civil War, the 37th and 43rd Governor of North Carolina, and U.S. Senator. A prodigious writer, Vance became one of the most influential Southern leaders of the Civil War and postbellum periods.

Childhood

Zebulon Vance was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina near present-day Weaverville, the third of eight children. His family is known to have owned a relatively large number of slaves (18). His uncle was Congressman Robert Brank Vance, for whom his elder brother, Robert B. Vance, was named. At age twelve he was sent to study at Washington College in Tennessee, now known as Washington College Academy. The death of his father forced Vance to withdraw and return home at the age of fourteen. It was during this time that he began to court the well-bred Miss Harriette Espy by letter.

In order to improve his standing, Vance determined to go to law school. At the age of twenty-one, he wrote to the President of the University of North Carolina, where he was a member of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, former Governor David L. Swain, and asked for a loan so that he could attend law school. Governor Swain arranged for a $300 loan from the university, and Vance performed admirably. By 1852 Vance had begun practicing law in Asheville, and was soon elected county solicitor (prosecuting attorney). By 1853, he and Harriette Espy were married, and they would subsequently have four sons.

Civil War

By the time the ordinance of secession had passed in May, Vance was a captain stationed in Raleigh, commanding a company known as the "Rough and Ready Guards," part of the Fourteenth North Carolina Regiment. That August, Vance was elected Colonel of the Twenty-sixth North Carolina. The Twenty-sixth engaged in battle in New Bern in March 1862, where Vance conducted an orderly retreat. Vance also led the Twenty-sixth at Richmond. The Twenty-sixth was ultimately destroyed at the Battle of Gettysburg, losing more than 700 of its original 800 members, though Vance at that time was no longer in military service.

In September 1862, Vance won the gubernatorial election. In the Confederacy, Vance was a major proponent of individual rights and local self-government, often putting him at odds with the Confederate government of Jefferson Davis. For example, North Carolina was the only state to observe the right of habeas corpus and keep its courts fully functional during the war. Also, Vance refused to allow supplies smuggled into North Carolina by blockade runners to be given to other states until North Carolinians had their share. Vance's work for the aid and morale of the people, especially in mitigating the harsh Confederate conscription practices, inspired the nickname "War Governor of the South." Vance was re-elected in 1864.

Post-War career

Governor Vance was arrested by Federal forces on his birthday in May 1865 and spent time in prison in Washington, D.C. Per President Andrew Johnson's amnesty program, he filed an application for pardon on June 3, and was paroled on July 6. After his parole, he began practicing law in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among his clients was accused murderer Tom Dula, the subject of the folk song "Tom Dooley." Governor Vance was formally pardoned on March 11, 1867, though no formal charges had ever been filed against him leading to his arrest, during his imprisonment, nor during the period of his parole.

In 1870, the state legislature elected him to the United States Senate, but due to the restrictions placed on ex-Confederates by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, he was not allowed to serve. In 1876, Vance was elected Governor once again (during which time he focused on education), and in 1879 the legislature again elected him to the United States Senate. This time he was seated, and he served in the Senate until his death in 1894. After a funeral in the U.S. Capitol, Vance was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville.

Starting in about 1870, Vance gave a speech hundreds of times he called "The Scattered Nation," which praised the Jews and called for religious tolerance and freedom amongst all Americans. In 1880, Vance married Florence Steele Martin of Kentucky.

Quotes

About Vance

"He was the Mount Mitchell of all our great men, and in the affections and love of the people, he towered above them all. As ages to come will not be able to mar the grandeur and greatness of Mount Mitchell, so they will not be able to efface from the hearts and minds of the people the name of their beloved Vance."

-- T. J. Jarvis, Governor from 1879 to 1885

By Vance

"The purpose of war is to explore each other."

[edit] Unconfirmed"A vale of humility between two mountains of conceit."

Supposedly said by Vance about North Carolina. The two mountains of conceit are Virginia and South Carolina. This is also attributed to Alexander Hamilton, but probably predates both Hamilton and Vance.

Legacy

There are several monuments dedicated to Vance:

An obelisk dedicated to Vance in Pack Square, Asheville A statue on the south grounds of the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh A bronze in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. A small monument located where his post-war home once stood (1865–1894), at Sixth and College Streets, in Charlotte One of the administrative buildings at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is named Vance Hall in his honor. A portrait of Vance hangs behind the President's chair of The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His birthplace is a state historic site in Weaverville. Several locations and schools in North Carolina bear Vance's name:

The town of Zebulon, in Wake County The town of Vanceboro, North Carolina Vance County on the North Carolina - Virginia border Zebulon B. Vance High School in Charlotte Zeb Vance Elementary School in Kittrell Vance Masonic Lodge A.F.&A.M. #293 in Weaverville In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Zebulon B. Vance was named in his honor.

Stephen Morgan Bailey and Rebecca Deyton

born on June 15, 1825 in Yancey County, North Carolina.  He was a twin to Hiram Bailey. He married Rebecca Deyton.  He fought in the Civil War on the Union side. He fell off a cliff during a night raid and injured himself seriously.

Civil War Information, Regiment Name: 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Side: Union Company: A Soldier's Rank In: Private Soldier's Rank Out: Private Film Number: M391 roll 1

Stephen Morgan was also reported as the first settler in Lost Cove, North Carolina where it is a family legend that he bought the cove from the Indians with a ten dollar bill and a rifle when his regiment went through the cove.

They had seven children, Mary (1848-?), Joseph (1850-?), Sarah (1853-?), Wilson C. (1854-?), in Yancey County, North Carolina at the Zebulon “Zebb” (1856-1950), John W. (1860-?), and Lovada (1865-?).

He died in April 1,1889 age of 63. They are buried in the “Yellow Jacket” John Bailey Cemetery, Relief, North Carolina. Zebulon Vance “Zebb” “Zebbadee” Bailey and Hannah Wilson

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