Our story begins in the southwestern part of NC…and ends only 8 miles south of his birthplace. Zeb Vance packed a lot of living into those 64 years.… including law school, fighting in the Civil War, three terms as governor, a federal prison sentence and representing a defendant, free of charge, in THE most famous love triangle/murder case in North Carolina history!
Things were going very well for young Zeb Vance: A law degree by age 22, elected to the state legislature at 24, and to the US Congress at 28, but dark clouds of destiny were forming.
In 1860, his was a voice in the wilderness because Vance strongly advocated maintaining the Union. He spoke against secession because he thought it unwise and dangerous, but when the shots were fired at Fort Sumter…all bets were off and he cast his lot with his state, as North Carolina went Confederate.
From peace-loving dove to war hawk, Vance chose to form his own army unit, the Rough and Ready Guards, and saw some action early on in the Civil War.
But soon a higher office came calling. Just over a year later he was elected governor of the Confederate state of North Carolina…he was 32.
He went toe to toe with the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, over the harsh draft practices of the rebel army, understandably this stance endeared him to many in the Tarheel state. Under his guidance, North Carolina was also the ONLY southern state to observe the writ of habeas corpus (or the right of person to a fair trial) during the war. He was easily reelected in 1864.
In 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant and right after that Federal Troops crashed Vance’s 35th birthday party and promptly escorted him to federal prison! Happy Birthday Zeb! He applied for President Johnson’s amnesty program and was paroled six weeks later and pardoned in 1867.
Seeking a change of scenery, Vance moved the family to Charlotte and began practicing law. A couple of years later a case came up in Wilkes County, NC that drew the attention of Vance and later the entire nation. The trial was to become the stuff of legend…it involved a love triangle, a murder, and a young ex-confederate soldier by the name of Tom Dula…better known as Tom Dooley.
Vance defended Dooley free of charge but, spoiler alert, after Dooley’s retrial and subsequent hanging, Vance traveled on, and was reelected governor for a 3rd time and served in the US Senate until his death in 1894.
Vance actually referred to himself as “the traveling man” and while it was true in life, it was also true in death. He was originally buried at Riverside Cemetery in Asheville…next to his 2nd wife, but his children protested and had Vance moved to his ancestral home in nearby Weaverville. A later compromise between the existing families had him moved back to Riverside, but this time beside wife number one…Godspeed Zeb Vance!
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