Zebulon Baird Vance

Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13,1830--April 14,1894) was an American Civil War hero and three-time Governor of North Carolina. A prodigious writer, Vance became one of the most influential southern leaders of the Civil War and post-bellum periods.

After the War

Like many other Southern politicians, Vance was arrested and imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison Camp at the end of the war. Following his parole in 1865, he returned to practice law in Charlotte. In 1870 he won election to the United States Senate, but was denied admission because he had not yet been pardoned.

Related Topics:
Old Capitol Prison Camp - 1865 - Charlotte - 1870 - United States Senate

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Vance was governor again from 1877 to 1879, a period marked by the death of his beloved wife, Harriet Vance. As governor Vance led an effort to increase educational facilities and teacher training. At the end of his term as governor, he again ran for and won a position in the Senate.

Related Topics:
1877 - 1879

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As a Senator, Vance was a dynamic and controversial speaker who often packed the galleries. He was a popular and effective arbitrator of tensions between North and South.

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The Senator married again in 1880 to Florence Steele Martin of Kentucky.

Related Topics:
1880 - Kentucky

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He died in Washington, DC on April 14, 1894, and after services in the Senate Chamber was buried in Asheville.

Related Topics:
Washington, DC - April 14 - 1894

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