Laurence S. Baker

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Laurence Simmons Baker
May 15, 1830 – April 10, 1907

Place of birth Gates County, North Carolina
Place of death Suffolk, Virginia
Allegiance United States of America,
Confederate States of America
Years of service 1851–61 (USA), 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank Brigadier General
Battles/wars American Civil War
- Peninsula Campaign
- Seven Days Battle
- Second Battle of Bull Run
- Battle of Antietam
- Battle of Brandy Station
- Battle of Gettysburg
- Battle of Bentonville

Laurence Simmons Baker (May 15, 1830 – April 10, 1907) was an officer in the United States Army on the frontier, then later a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

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[edit] Early life and career

Baker was born on the Cole's Hill Plantation in Gates County, North Carolina, the last of the four children of Dr. John Burgess and Mary G. W. Baker. His great-grandfather and namesake Laurence Baker had been a general during the American Revolution. After receiving his initial schooling at the Norfolk Academy, he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1851, placing 42nd and last in his class. After graduation, he was breveted a second lieutenant and served for nine years in the U.S. Mounted Rifles, assigned to duty on the western frontier and rising to the rank of captain.

In 1855, Baker married Elizabeth E. Henderson (1836–1918).

[edit] Civil War

In May 1861, he resigned his commission when North Carolina seceded from the Union. Although personally opposed to the concept of secession, Baker was loyal to his state. He became the lieutenant colonel of the 1st North Carolina Cavalry, and was then promoted to colonel on March 1, 1862, leading the cavalry regiment in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. He saw action at the Seven Days Battle, Second Battle of Manassas, and Battle of Sharpsburg later in 1862.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, Baker was wounded at the Battle of Brandy Station. However, he capably led his men in a number of small cavalry actions, culminated in the fighting at East Cavalry Field. Baker assumed command of Wade Hampton's brigade when that officer was severely wounded by a saber slash. He was promoted to brigadier general on July 23, 1863, in recognition for his valiant service covering the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia. Eight days later, he was severely wounded in the right arm while resisting a Federal crossing of the Rappahannock River, and was incapacitated for nearly a year.

After recovering enough for administrative duty, Baker was named commander of the Second Military District in his home state of North Carolina, overseeing the defense of vital railroads and supply lines. He briefly led a brigade into Georgia to help defend Savannah, but withdrew before the city surrendered. He also commanded the North Carolina Junior Reserves from 1864 until 1865, a predominantly recruiting and desk position. Despite his still painfully shattered arm, Baker returned to the field during the Carolinas Campaign, including the Battle of Bentonville. He and most of men did not surrender at the end of the war, preferring to try to cut his way through Union lines to join Joseph E. Johnston's army. Instead, he disbanded his brigade and the remaining men dispersed. Baker received his formal parole in Raleigh, North Carolina, in May 1865.

[edit] Postbellum activities

After the war, Baker lived at New Bern for a while before moving to Norfolk, Virginia, as a farmer. After returning to North Carolina, he was engaged in insurance until 1877. The next year, he joined the Seaboard Air Line Railroad as a station agent, serving for 29 years. His duties included managing the Western Union telegraph and the Southern Express Co., a shipping company.

He was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Suffolk, Virginia, and was active in the local camp of the United Confederate Veterans. He died in Suffolk in 1907 and was buried in the city's Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Due to a clerical error in the War Department, in some official military documents, his first name is frequently misspelled as "Lawrence".

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