August 12 

By: Landon Benfield

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          On this day, Colonel Zebulon Vance (1830-1894) of the 26th North Carolina Infantry resigned from the Confederate army after being elected Governor of North Carolina. Vance, a native of Buncombe County, was an attorney before the Civil War who graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1852 and became a U.S. Representative in 1858. On May 4, 1861, two weeks before North Carolina seceded from the Union, Vance organized and led the “Rough and Ready Guards,” which became Company F of the 14th North Carolina Infantry. As a Whig, he opposed the nation’s breakup but honored North Carolinians’ right to choose their path. Vance served in the 14th Regiment until August 27, 1861, when he was elected colonel of the 26th North Carolina. Vance led his regiment in the Seven Days Battles, which changed the trajectory of his career. At the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, Vance’s unwavering resolve and composure on the battlefield impressed his fellow Confederates, who encouraged him to run for governor. Vance remained with his troops but did run as the soldiers’ candidate. His opponent was Democrat William J. Johnston of Charlotte, whose party faced criticism for drafting soldiers and military failures. Vance received nearly 73% of the total votes for governor. He learned of his victory while stationed with the 26th in Petersburg, Virginia. He resigned his commission and left for Raleigh, where he officially took office as governor on September 8, 1862.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sources:

Weymouth T. Jordan, Jr. North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, 7:463; Earl J. Hess, Lee’s Tar Heels: The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade (UNC Press, 2015), 4; Richard E. Yates, “Zebulon B. Vance: as War Governor of North Carolina, 1862–1865,” Journal of Southern History 3, no.1 (Feb 1937): 43–75.

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