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GLEAN IB
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VOL. 4
LASIvEIt, KORTIIAMPTON" COUNTY, X. O., THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1803.
NO. 5.
Z B. VANCE.
His Life and Character For
trayed by Senator Ransom.
EULOGY DELIVERED IN THE UNITED
STATES SENATE VANCE THE
GREATEST TRIBUNE OF
THE PEOPLE.-
Mr. President, the Senate is
asked to render its last duties of
honor and sorrow to the memory
of the Hon. Zebulon Baird Vance
late a Senator from North Caro
lina. '
In this Chamber on the 16th
of last April two days after his
death, the Senate lighted its black
torches around the lifeless form
of that most honored and beloved
son of our State, and his mortal
figure, covered with the white
flowers of spring and lover and
hallowed by the sacred devotions
of religion, passed amid tears like
a shadow from these portals for
ever. To-day his associates on
this lloor are here to place on the
ever-living annals of the Senate
the record of their admiration and
affection for his virtues.
I take this summary from the
Congressional Directory:
Z btilonl5. Vaticr, of Charlotte, whs
horn hi 'Buncombe comity. North Canv-
liiia. May Hi, 1830, was educated at
Wa-hingtou College, Tennessee, and at
the University .f North Carolina, stuoied
lii'v; was admitted to the bar ii. Janu
ary, I8.V2, and was elected cdunty attor
ney for Buncombe county the same year;
was a member of the State House of
Common in IS.VJ; was a rcptf tentative
frmii North Carolina jn the -.Thirty-lift It
and Thirty-sixth Congresses; entered the
Confederate army as captain in May,
1BG! , and was made Colonel in August.
1801; was elected Goycrror of North Car
olina in August, 1802, and re-elected in
August, 1804; wa.elected to tlc United
State Senate in 1870, but was refused
admission, and resigned in Januajy,
1872; was elected Governor of North
C iioli'iu for the third time in 1870; and
i i January, 1878, was elected to the Uu-
ied States SenaTe; was re-elected in
1SS5, was again re-elected in 1891, and
died at ' his residence in Washington,
Apiil 14. 1804.
His Birth-place.
His paternal and maternal an
cestors both were revolutionary
iwitriots. I have passed the spot
where he was born. The "Vance
homestead ' ' was a large frame
building of the "olden time, " with
bi-oad stone chimneys, indicate
of comfort and hospitality. It
stood near the French Broad Riv
er and in the midst of the Blue
Ridge mountains. Now the house
has been taken down and only a
few stones remain to mark the
site where it once was It is a
lilace of beauty. In front of it
the river is smooth and placid as
a lake; above and below, it dashes
and roars into a mountain torrent
and you almost hear the echoes of
the ocean. - Around it the great
mountains tower like giants, and
their dark forests are mirrored in
tlie deep blue bosom of the
stream. On this scene, amid sub
limity and beauty, Vance first be
held the light of heaven. From
this beautiful river, from these
sublime mountains, from neigh
boring scenes, all bristling with
'heroic and patriotic recollections,
he received his first impressions.
These were ths books from which 1
he learned the lessons that were
to be the foundations of his illus
trious career. He was a son of
the mountaius,and I rarely looked
on him without being reminded
of them.
His Boyhood.
I know but little of his boyhood,
but if the Senate will pardon me
I will speak of an incident that il
lustrates his character. In the
canvass of 187-1 was with Gov
ernor Vance in the mountain
counties of our State. Passing
from Ashe ville over the mountain
to Burnsvillc, we made a short
stop" at the home of Nehemiah
Blackstock, not far from Ivy
Greek. Squire Blackstock was
nearly 80 years of age and his
good wife was but little younger.
He had been tlie surveyor of Bun
combe county for more than thir
ty years, 1 shall never forget
tlie meeting of Governor Vance
and that venerable couple. They
fell on each other's necks they
embraced and wept They had
not met for years before.' The
conversation was short, not an
half, hour long, and consisted
mainly of reminiscences. Vance
when a boy1 had lived with Hie
old people and attended a country
school close by. Mrs. Blackstock,
betming with joy, asked him if
he remembered the scenes of his
schoolboy days and vividly de
picted his wild, wayward ml&
chief, his pranks, his plays with
the girls, his wrongs to the boys,
ins visits to the orchards, his
raids upon the watermelons, his
practical jokes, his offences to the
teacher, and many similar aber
rations.
When old Mr.-Blackstock, with
a benignant smile, said, "Well,
you may say what you will about
Zeb; he was a mighty bad boy
and hard to control, but he had
one redeeming quality, that made
up for all his faults. Zeb would
tell the truth. When you missed
your eggs mat you wanted so
much for the preacher, and were
so mad that they, we re gone, and
all the boys denied everything
about them, Zeb came up like a
man and told them he took them,
out- he would not tell who helped
him eat them. He would always
tell the truth." . Then I knew
that from his boyhood on Truth
nad been Vance's star: and what
a star:
At the University.
At the University vance re
mained two years, and pursued
a selected course of studies, and
soon made a name for genius, wit
and oratory. He was an especial
favorite of President Swain, who
for so many years had exerted a
powerful influence in elevating
and directing the youth of the
South and made all of us who
came under it better citizens and
better men. xoung Vance was
extremely-popular with the stu
dents and also with the people of
the villagre of Chapel Hill. Even
then reports came from the Uni
versify of his brilliant wit, his
striking originality, and his high
promise.
Beginning of His Political
Career. '
He served one session . in the
State Legislature, and there gave
unmistakable earnest of the lllus
trious life before him.
He was elected to the House of
Representatives in the Thirty-
fifth and Thirty-sixth Congress
es, and took distinguished posi
tion in that Assembly, which has
''.1 I 1 ' l M. A
oeen me lists oi so many states
menIn 1861, upon the adjourn
ment of Congress, he returned
home, and seeing that war Was in
evitable raised a company of vol
unteers, marched to Virginia, and
was soon alter elected uoionei oi
the Twenty-sixth RegimentNorth
Carolina infantry, a regiment just
ly distinguished for the largest
oss of killed and wounded at (Get
tysburg.
He had always been opposed to
the secession of the Southern
States, did everything possible to
avert it, and was one of the very
ast Southern men to declare his
ove and devotion to the Union. '
In the battle of Newbern, N. C,
n 1862, Colonel Vance was con-
spicuous tor courage ana cool
ness, and received the highest
commendation for his soldierly
conduct on that field. In August
of that year he was electedGov
ernor of the State, and received
the almost unanimous vote of the
soldiers. In 1864 he was re-elect
ed governor by a very large ma
jority, and held tlie executive of
fice until until the occupation of
Raleigh by JGen. Sherman in
April, 1865.
The Great War Governor.
As the executive of North Car
olina his administration was sig
nally distinguished by great abil
ity, vigor,and energy, by ardent
and constant fidelity to the South
ern cause, and by wise foresight
and prudent husbandryof all the
resources of tlie State. He was
in every sense governor of the
State. From the day on which
he entered upon the duties of the
office until the hojur when he laid
it down his commanding genius
asserted his competence for the
great-responsibilities of the posi
tion, and his administration de
served and received tlie unbound
ed confidence, support, and ap
probation of all the patriotic peo
ple of 2?orth Carolina. He called
to his councils the wisest, the best
the most trusted men in the State
of all shades of patriotic senti
ment He inspired the people
with renewed love for the strug
gle, he united the discordant ele
ments among us, he animated the
despondent, he, tolerated the con
scientious lovers of peace, he re-J
buked the timid, he brought back
to life the spirit of our revolution
patriots. He gave new hope to
the army, he aroused the pride of
the State,' he strengthened all its
means, and prepared for war to
the end.. Well may he have been
designated as the "great war gov
ernor of the South."
These acts of his administra
tion are Justly entitled to be
ranked as historic. First: The
organization of a fleet of vessels
to sail from Wilmington, N. C, to
.Europe with cargoes of -'cotton
and return with supplies for the
soldiers and essential necessaries
for the people. This supreme en
terprise was eminently success
ful For months and years the
Advance and other vessels com
manded by skillful officers, well
manned and adequately equipped,
went like sea birds across the
Europe laden "with the great sta
Dies or tnft hontn ann rfttnrmner
with stores of the needed sup
plies, triumphantly eluded the
blockading squadron, and sailed
with colors flying up the Cape
Fear to Wilmington. The sol
diers were clothed and fed, cards
and spinning wheels, sewing and
knitting needles, were furmshed
to our noble-women, machinery
tor looms, surgical instruments,
medicines, books and seeds, were
all brought home to a suffering:
people. The history of thwar
does not present on example of
greater wisdom and success.
Second: In 1864 and 1865, when
the resources of the South were
absolutely exhausted, when our
noble armies were reduced and
hemmed in on every side, ragged,
hungry and almost without am
munition; when starvation and
famine confronted every thresh
old in the South and a morsel of
bread was the daily subsistence
of a family: in that dark i and
dreadful hour Governor Vance
first appealed to the Government
at Richmond, and finding it per
fectly helpless to give any relief,
summoned his council of State
and by almost superhuman efforts
prevailed upon the destitute peo
ple of North Carolina to divide
their last meal and their pitiful
lothing with the suffering Union
prisoners at Salisbury. Human
ity, chivalry, piety, I invoke from
you a purer, better, holier exam
ple of Christian Charity in war! .
Third: During his administra
tion as Governor of North CarolK
tit 1 r
na, aitnougn war was nagranr,
though camps covered the fields,
though soldiers were conscripted
by thousands, though cold-hear t-
d men of ample-means refused
supplies to soldiers with bleeding
feet, though thousands of desert
ers, refugees Trom duty, were
arrested, though the War Depart
ment daily called j for more men,
though every art and artifice and
device was practiced to keep the
soldiers from the field, though
spies and traitors were detected
and seized, though traders in con
traband of war were constantly
caught flagrante delicto and cap- j
tured, though in all countries in
ime or war civil autnority nas
been compelled to submit to mili
tary necessity and power, yet in
North Carolina during the war
the writ of habeas corpus, the
great writ of liberty, was never
for one moment suspended. Im
mortal history ! Worthy of Meck-
enburg and the 20th of May, 1 o.
Third Time Elected Gov-
ernor. 1
In 1876 Governor Vance was
tor the third time elected ijover-
ernor of the State, and his admin
istration, was the beginning of a
new era for North Carolina. Dur-
mthis administration the fraud-
ulent bonds issued by a recon
struction Legislature were made
null and void by constitutional
amendment The debt of the
State was adjusted on terms of
equity and justice. Important
railroad enterprises were revived
and -new internal improvements
organized and begun. Tlie pub
lic schools were, extended, en
larged and improved. - Education
was provided for tire-colored peo
ple; asylums for the insane, their
deaf, dumb and blincLwe re estab
lished. A great duty nobly per
formed! It was at this period that the
legislature established the county
of Vance and named it in honor of
him, which fact contributed large
ly to the popularity of the meas
ure creating the county.
Elected to the Senate.
In 1878 he was elected to the
Senate, and until he died remained
a member of this body, having
been elected four times a Sena
tor. His record in the Senate is
part of the Nation's history.
Prom the beginning he was an ac
tive, earnest debater, a constant,
faithful worker, adutif mVdevoted
Senator, aspiring and laboring
for the welfare and honor of the
whole country. He was at all
times on the important commit
tees of the body and took a prom
inent part in the discussion of al
most evoxY leading question. He
was the unceasing advocate, of
revenue reform, uncompromis
ingly opposed to civil service, and
the ardent friend of silver money
and its free coinage by the gov
ernment He vigilantly defended
the rights, honorT and interests
of the Southern States, not from
sectional passion or prejudice, but
because it was his duty as a pat
riot to every State and to the Un
ion. He was bold, i brave, open,
candid, and without reserve. He
desired all the world to know his
opinions and positions, and never
hesitated to avow them.
An Uncommon Orator.
His heart every moment was
in JNorth uarolina. His devotion
to the State and people was un
bounded, his solicitude for her
welfare, his deep anxiety in all
that concerned lier, and his ever
readiness to make every sacrifice
in her behalf was daily manifest-
3d in all his words and actions.
Senator Vance was an uncommon
orator. He spoke with great pow
er. His style was brief, clear,and
strong. His statements vere ac
curate and definite. His arsru-
ments compact and forcible, his
illustrations unsurpassed in their
ntness, nis wit and humor were
the eer Waiting and ready hand
maids to his reasoning,.- and al
ways subordinated to the higher
purpose of- his speech. They
were torchbearers, ever bringing
fresh hgnt He always instruct
ed, always interested, always en
tertained, and never "wearied or
fatigued an audience, and knew
when to conclude. The Senate
arways jheard him with pleasure,
and - the galleries hung upon his
lips, and with bended bodies and
out stretched necks would catch
his every word as it fell.
He rarely if ever spoke without
bringing down applause. His wit
was as inexhaustible as it was ex
quisite. His humor was overflow-
ng, fresh, sparkling like bubbling
drops of wine in a goblet; but he.
husbanded these resources of
speech with admirable skill, and
never displayed them for osten
tation. They were weapons of
offence and defense, and were al
ways kept sharp and bright and
ready for. use. ! He was -master
of irony and sarcasm, but there
was 'no malice, no hatred in his
swift and true arrows. Mortal
wounds were often given, but the
shafts were never poisoned. Jt
was the strength of the bow and
the skill of the archer that sent
the steel through the heartof its
victim. "Butstrengtlvforcei clear-
ness, brevity, honesty of convic-
ion, truth, passion, good judge
ment were the qualities that made
his speech powerful and effective.
Believed What lie Said.
He believed what he said. He
knew it was true, he fell its force
himself, his heart was in his
words, he was ready to put place",
honor, life itself upon the issue.
This was the secret of his popu
larity, fame and success as a
speaker. He studied his speech
es with the greatest care, delib
erated, meditated upon them con
stantly, arranged the order of his
topics with consummate discre
tion, introduced authorities from
history, and very often from sa
cred history, presented some pop
ular faith as an anchor to his ship,
and concluded with a sincere ap
peal to the patriotic impulses of
the peopla No speaker ever re
sorted to the bayonet more fre
quently. , r
He did notskirmish.he'marched
into the battle, charged the cen
ter of the lines, and never failed
to" draw the blood of the enemy.
Sometimes he was supreme in
manner, in words, in thought, in
pathos. He possessed the thunder-bolts,
but, like Jove, he never
trifled with them, he only invoked
them when gigantic perils con
fronted his cause. In 187Q, upon
his third nomination for govern
or, speaking to an immense audi
ence in the Statehouse Square at
Raleigh, he held up both hands in
the light of the sun and with sol
emn invocation to Almighty God
declared that they were white
and stainless, that not one cent of
corrupt money had ever touched
their palms. The effect was elec
tric; the statement was convic
tion and conclusion. The argu-"
ment was unanswerable. It was
great nature's action. It was
eloquence. It was truth.
His Integrity Absolute.
Senator Vance's integrity and
uprightness m public and in pri
vate life were absolute; they were
unimpeached and .unimpeachable
he was honest it is the price
less inheritance which he leaves
to his family, his friends, his coun
try. He was an honest man. Cal
umny fell harmless at his feet;
the light dissipated every cloud
and he Uved continually in its
broad rays; his breastplate, his
snieid, his armor was the light
the truth. There was no dark
ness, no mystery, ho shadow up
on his bright standard.
Senators will all remainder the
loss of his eye in the winter of
lty. How touching it was a
sacrifice, an offering on the altar
of his country. For no -victim
was ever more tightly bound to
the stake than he was to his dutv
here. How bravely, how ratient-
y, how cheerfully, how manfallv
he bore the d readf ul loss !But
the light, the glorious light of a
warm heart a noble nature, a
good conscience,aninnocentmem-
oiy, was never obscured to him.
It was to him a great bereave-
ment. but it was another, a more
sacred tie that again and again
bound his countrymen to him.
His Long Illness. ,
1 1n his long and tedious illness
no complaint, no murmurs es
caped his calm and cheerful lips.
He was composed, firm, brave,
constant hopeful to the last His
love cf country was unabated, his
friendships unchanged, his de
votion to duty un relaxed. His
philosophy was serene, his brow
was cloudless, his spiritf his tem
per, his great .mind,. aJl were su
perior to his sufferings.
His great souk illuminated the
physical wreckind ruin around
it and shone outwith clearer lus
ter amid disease and decay.
Truly he was a most wonderful
man. His last thoughts, his dy
ing words, his expiring prayers,
were tor his country, for liberty
and the people. A great patriot,
a noble citizen; a good man, it is
impossible not to remember, to
admire, to love him. .
I cannot compare Senator
Vance with Caesar, Napoleon, or
Washington. I cannot place him
at the side of Webster, Clay, and
Ualhoun. I do not measure him
with Chatham arid', Gladstone.
He j was not a philosopher like
Franklin, he was not an orator
ike Mirabeau, but placed in any
company of English or American
statesmen he would have taken
high position.
He Loved the People.
He had not the wisdom and vir
tue of -Macon. He was not like
Baderer. a master of argument
He was not like Graham, a model
of 'dignity and learning he had
not the superb speech and grand
passion oi iuangum, ne wanted
the tenacious and inexorable loeric
of Bragg, but in all the endow
ments, qualities, faculties and at
lamments mat matte up me ora
tor and the statesman he was the
a ual of either. No man among
the living or the dead ever so
possessed and held the hearts of
North Carolina's people. In
their confidence, their affection,
heir devotion, and their gratitude
he stood unapproachable with
out a peer . When he spoke to
hem they listened to him with
aith, with admiration, with rapt
ure and exultant joy. His name
was ever upon their lips. His
pictures were in almost every
household. Their children by
hundreds bore his beloved name,
and his words of wit and wisdom
were repeated ty every tongue.
What Tell was to Switzerland,
what Bruce was to Scotland, what
William of Orange was to Holland,
I had almost said what Moses
was to Israel Vance was to North
Carolina. I can give you but a
faint idea of the deep, fervid, ex
alted sentiment which our people
cherished for their greatest
ribuna His thoughts, his feel
ings, his words were theirs. He
was their shepherd, their cham-
pion, their friend, their guidet
blood of their blood, great good.
noble, true, human like they were
in all respects, no better, but
wiser, abler, with higher knowl
edge and profounder learning.
Why They Loved Him.
Nor was this unsurpassed de
votion unreasonable or without
ust foundation. For more than
the third of a century, for up
wards of thirty, years, in peace
and in war, in prosperity and in
adversity, m joy and in sorrow,
he had stood by them hKeaDrom-
er a defender, a preserver, a de
liverer. He was their martyr
and had suffered for their acts.
He was their shield and had pro
tected them from evil and from
peril He had been with them
he had been with them and their
sons and brothers on the march
by the camp fires, in the burn
ing light of battle; beside the
wounded and the dying; in their
darkest hours, amid huncror and
cold, and famine and pestilence.
iua wuicniui care had brought
them comfort and shelter and
protection. They remembered
the gray jackets, the warm blank
ets, the good shoes, the timely
j 1 . .
iooti, me messed medicines,
which his sympathy and provision
had bronrrht tViAm Tr A
O " ,vvil.k,
amid tumult amid ruin, humilia
tion, and the loss of all thev had.
he had been their adviser, ho had
guided them through tlie wilder
ness of their woes and brought
them safely back to their rights
aud all their hopes. He had been
to them like the north star to the
storm-tossed and despairing mar
iner. He had been greater than
Ulysses to the Greeks. He had
preserved their priceless honor. -
had saved their homes, and was
the defender of their liberties.
He waff their benefactor. Every
object around mem reminded
them of his care, every memory
recalled, every thought suggested
his usefulness and their irrati-
tude. V . -
.......
Other States Honored Him.
The light from their school
houses spoke of his services to
their education, The very sight
of their graves brought back to
their hearts his tender devotion
to their sons. And' the papers
and the wires with the rising of
almost every sun bore to their
pure oosoms xne news oi nis sue;
cess, his triumphs, and his hon-
mm m
ors. They . we re proud oi mm ;
they admired "him loved him.
These, these were the founda
tions, the solid foundations of his
place in their minds and in their
hearts. From the wind-beaten
md storm-bleached Capes of Hat-
teras to the dark blue mountain
tops that divided North Carolina
and Tennessee there is not a spof
from which the name of Vance is
not echoed with honor and love.
But his influence and his fame
were not confined within State
lines. .. .
In New England the sons of the
brave Puritans admired hislovo
of liberty, his independence of
thought, his freedom of speech,
his contempt for pretensions, and
his abhorrence of deceit The
hardy miners in the far West and
on the Pacific hills felt his friend
ship and were grateful for his
services. Virginia loved him as
the vindicator of her imperiled
rights "and honor. From the
farms, and fields and firesides of
the husbandmen of the Republic
there came to him the greeting
of friends, for he was always the
advocate of low taxes and equal
rights and privileges to all men.
From all the South he was looked
upon as the representative of
their sorrow and the example oi
their honor ; and all over tho civr
ilized world the people of Israel
the scattered nation," every
where bowed with uncovered
heads to the brave man who had
rendered his noble testimony
and a tribute to the virtues of
heir race. Even the officers, tho
sentinels and watchmen over him
in the old capitol prison, in which
he was confined on the alleged
and wrongful charge that he had
violated the laws of 1 war, were
spellbound by, his genial spirit
and became his devoted friends
up to the hour of his death. His "
genius, his ability, his humanity,
his long continued public service,
his great pnysicai suuenng. u
martyrdom to his duty, the sor
cery of his wit, the magic of his
humor, and me courage oi nis
convictions had attracted tho uni
versal sympathy and admiration
of the American people.
His 7as a Great Life.
Tn thn '-brief summary, in the
n; .fnrv. is embraced a creat
life; County Attorney,' member
of the State House oi uommons;
Representative in two Congress-
es: Captain and uoionei m mo
Southern Army; three times
elected Governor of his State,
and'four times elected to the Sen
ate of the United States. hat a
iwonl and what a combination.
A great statesman, a good soldier,
a rare scholar, a successful law- 1
yer.an orator of surpassing power
Continued on 2nd Page.