Zebulon Baird Vance | |
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43rd Governor of North Carolina | |
In office January 1, 1877 – February 5, 1879 |
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Preceded by | Curtis Hooks Brogden |
Succeeded by | Thomas Jordan Jarvis |
37th Governor of North Carolina | |
In office September 8, 1862 – May 29, 1865 |
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Preceded by | Henry Toole Clark |
Succeeded by | William Woods Holden |
United States Senator from North Carolina | |
In office 1879 – 1894 |
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Preceded by | Augustus S. Merrimon |
Succeeded by | Thomas Jordan Jarvis |
Personal details | |
Born | May 13, 1830 Weaverville, North Carolina |
Died | April 14, 1894 North Carolina |
(aged 63)
Political party | Whig/American (pre-Civil War)[1] Conservative Party of NC (c. 1862-1872)[2][3] Democratic (1872-1894) |
Spouse(s) | Harriette Vance |
Children | 4 |
Profession | lawyer, colonel, politician |
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.
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Zebulon Vance was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina near present-day Weaverville,[4] 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.[5]
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.
By the time the ordinance of secession had passed in May 1861, 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.
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.[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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[7][8]
"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
"The purpose of war is to explore each other."
"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.
There are several monuments dedicated to Vance:
Several locations and schools in North Carolina bear Vance's name:
In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Zebulon B. Vance was named in his honor.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Henry T. Clark |
Governor of North Carolina 1862–1865 |
Succeeded by William W. Holden |
Preceded by Curtis H. Brogden |
Governor of North Carolina 1877–1879 |
Succeeded by Thomas J. Jarvis |
United States Senate | ||
Preceded by Augustus S. Merrimon |
United States Senator (Class 3) from North Carolina 1879–1894 Served alongside: Matt W. Ransom |
Succeeded by Thomas J. Jarvis |
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