Zebulon Baird Vance was born May 13, 1830 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, the third of eight children to David Baird Vance and mother Mira. His uncle was Congressman Robert Brank Vance. Zebulon would one day become a U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator and serve as governor of North Carolina. His terms in political office were interrupted by Civil War, and he spent a brief time as a Confederate military officer, but most of the war he served as governor of North Carolina. He is the subject of one of the two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol from North Carolina.
At age twelve Zebulon was sent to Washington College in Tennessee. Two years later when his father died he withdrew from college and returned home as he was needed by the family. The Vances moved to Asheville which had better educational opportunities.
Zebulon was able to obtain a loan and attend the University of North Carolina to continue legal studies that he had started under local legal minds. By 1852 he was licensed to practice law and was soon elected solicitor for Buncombe County.
It turns out that law was not his strong suit. Politics was. His success in the courtroom was gained through clever retorts, humor, and boisterous eloquence…not superior knowledge of the law. Perhaps Zebulon’s entry into the political sphere was under the wing of his uncle, Congressman Robert Brank Vance? Alas, Robert Brank Vance had died in 1827, before Zebulon’s birth. It was a duel that took the Congressman’s life. A nasty election was partly to blame…
In 1858, Zeb, was elected to U.S. Congress, to fill the vacancy left by a resignation. He was elected to another term, which was cut short by the war between the states. Congressman Vance did not favor secession, but when President Lincoln called for troops in 1861, Vance organized and served as Captain in a company called the “Rough and Ready Guards.”
Although he was a fine combat officer, having attained the rank of Colonel, political callings won and he accepted the nomination for Governor of North Carolina. He was elected in 1862, and would serve as governor through the end of the Civil War.
Governor Vance was a strong supporter of states’ rights, and in his mind, the state of North Carolina which he governed, took precedent over the Confederate government in Richmond. Governor Zebulon Baird Vance often found himself in conflict with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Vance objected vehemently to Confederate conscription and the impressment of property laws. He objected to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the use of Virginia officers in his state, and the discrimination in appointment and promotion of North Carolinians to the ranks of higher commissioned officers.
On May 13, 1865, on Zebulon Baird Vance’s 35th birthday he was arrested at his Statesville home, where he had been instructed to go when he had tried to turn himself in to Union General John M. Schofield upon learning back in April that General Johnson had surrendered to General Sherman. Vance was paroled on July 6, 1865 and filed for a pardon that was granted on March, 11 1867.
Vance returned to practicing law in Charlotte. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1870, however could not take a seat in Congress due to the restrictions placed on ex-Confederates. In 1876, Vance was once again elected Governor of North Carolina and in 1878, before completing his term as governor was elected to the U.S. Senate. By that time the restrictions on ex-Confederates serving in the Senate had been removed. Zebulon Baird Vance served as U.S. Senator until his death in 1894.
An interesting side-note is that one of the cases Attorney Vance took on was that of Thomas C. Dula (pronounced Dooley). Perhaps you have heard “Hang down your head Tom Dooley”? Sadly, or maybe justly…Thomas C. Dula was found guilty of murder, despite Attorney Vance’s belief in the young Confederate soldier’s innocence.
Zebulon Baird Vance is the subject of one of the two statues from North Carolina in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. The statue was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore fame.
Diana Erbio is a freelance writer and author of “Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find her Way in a New World”. Read more in her series Statues: The People They Salute visit The Table of Contents and the Facebook Page. (I’ll be adding to the Substack Table of Contents as I transfer the Blog Posts. Please subscribe to this Substack 😊🇺🇸🤓)
Quite an interesting person! Thank you for sharing his story.