View source for Cullen A. Battle

{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Cullen Andrews Battle
|birth_date= {{birth date|1829|6|1}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1905|4|8|1829|6|1}}
|image=Cullen A. Battle.jpg
|caption=Cullen A. Battle
|nickname=
|birth_place= [[Powelton, Georgia]], US
|death_place= [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], US
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= [[Confederate States of America]]
|branch= [[Confederate States Army]]
|serviceyears= 1861&ndash;65
|rank=  [[Brigadier General (CSA)|Brigadier General]]
|unit= [[Army of Northern Virginia]]
|commands= Battle's Brigade
|battles= [[American Civil War]]
*[[Peninsula Campaign]]
*[[Battle of South Mountain]]
*[[Battle of Antietam]]
*[[Battle of Fredericksburg]]
*[[Gettysburg Campaign]]
*[[Mine Run Campaign]]
*[[Bristoe Campaign]]
*[[Overland Campaign]]
*[[Valley Campaigns of 1864|1864 Valley Campaign]]
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork= Lawyer, newspaper editor, politician
}}
'''Cullen Andrews Battle''' (June 1, 1829 &ndash; April 8, 1905) was an American attorney, farmer, and politician. He was a [[General officer|general]] in the [[Confederate States Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He fought [[Congressional Reconstruction]] after the war in Alabama then North Carolina{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}.
==Early and family life==
Cullen Battle was  born to Dr Cullen Battle and his wife, the former Jane Andrews Lamon, in [[Powelton, Georgia]]. Both his parents had been born in central North Carolina, his mother in [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]] and his father in [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]]. Battle had at least 8 siblings. In 1835, after the expulsion of [[Creek Indian]]s from the area, his parents moved to Irwinton, Alabama (a now-vanished town along the [[Chattahoochee River]]  near modern [[Eufaula, Alabama|Eufaula]]) in [[Barbour County, Alabama]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=03-41&MarkerTitle=The%20Town%20of%20Irwinton |title=The Town of Irwinton Marker - Historic Markers Across Alabama |access-date=2019-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203084913/http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=03-41&MarkerTitle=The%20Town%20of%20Irwinton |archive-date=2019-02-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Battle received a private education appropriate for his class, then studied at the [[University of Alabama]], and after graduation he read law with his brother-in-law [[John Gill Shorter]], who would become Governor of Alabama.
In 1851 Cullen Battle married Georgia Florida Williams of [[LaGrange, Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/battle-cullen-andrews|title = Battle, Cullen Andrews &#124; NCpedia}}</ref><ref>In the 1840 U.S. Federal Census, "Andrews Battle" owed 13 slaves in Troup County, Georgia, but this man indexed as "Callin" Battle had no dependents nor slaves and his father "Cullen Battle" with a household of 7 free white people owned 219 slaves in Barbour County, Georgia.</ref> They had several children, including Rev. Henry Wilson Battle (b. 1855), a Baptist minister who moved back to North Carolina and later [[Petersburg, Virginia]], and daughters Jenny (b. 1863) and Florence (b. 1867).
==Early career==
Admitted to the Alabama bar in 1852, Battle opened his private legal practice in [[Tuskegee, Alabama]]. In 1850, his father owned 243 enslaved people in Barbour County.<ref>1850 U.S. Federal Census slave schedules for Division 23, Barbour County, Alabama pp. 59-61 of 131</ref> In 1860, he or his father would own 66 slaves in Macon County,<ref>1860 U.S. Federal Census slave schedules for Southern division, Macon County, Alabama p. 2 of 82</ref>  and another 111 slaves in [[Russell County, Alabama]] (adjacent to Barbour County and named after an Indian fighter).<ref>1860 U.S. Federal Census slave schedules for Southern division, Russell County, Alabama p. 47-48 of 117</ref>  The younger Battle also became active in local politics. He became a presidential elector and also was [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] of the local [[militia]]. When [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] raided Harpers Ferry, Virginia, Battle raised a militia company and offered to assist the Virginia soldiers, but Virginia's Governor [[Henry A. Wise|Wise]] declined his offer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/battle-cullen-andrews|title = Battle, Cullen Andrews &#124; NCpedia}}</ref>
==American Civil War==
When the Civil War began, Battle received a commission as [[Major (United States)|major]] of the [[3rd Regiment Alabama Infantry|3rd Alabama Infantry]] on April 28, 1861, and was sent with the [[regiment]] to [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. On July 31, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment. He fought at the [[Battle of Seven Pines]] and was promoted to [[colonel]] on May 31, 1862. He missed the [[Seven Days Battles]], but returned to the army in time for the [[Maryland Campaign]], in September 1862, fighting at the battles of [[Battle of South Mountain|South Mountain]] and [[Battle of Antietam|Antietam]]. He was injured after falling from his horse just before the [[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville Campaign]] and was forced to relinquish command. Although he re-assumed command just a day later, his injuries were aggravated when his horse jumped a ditch, forcing him to turn over command again.
Battle returned to the regiment for the [[Gettysburg Campaign]]. The 3rd Alabama was one of the regiments in [[Edward O'Neal]]'s Brigade, fighting on [[Oak Ridge, Adams County, Pennsylvania|Oak Ridge]] on July 1. After O'Neal's Brigade had been terribly disorganized by the [[Battle of Gettysburg, First Day|first day of battle]], Colonel Battle attached his regiment to Brig. Gen. [[Stephen D. Ramseur]]'s brigade for the remainder of the battle. General [[Robert E. Lee]] became displeased with O'Neal's performance and relieved him of command, putting Battle in his place. Battle subsequently led the brigade in the [[Mine Run Campaign]] and the [[Bristoe Campaign]] in the autumn and early winter.
In 1864, Battle led his men in the battles of [[Battle of the Wilderness|the Wilderness]], [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House|Spotsylvania Court House]], [[Battle of North Anna|North Anna]], and [[Battle of Cold Harbor|Cold Harbor]]. Later that year, Battle's Brigade became part of [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Jubal A. Early]]'s [[Army of the Valley]] and participated in the [[Battle of Monocacy]] in [[Maryland]] and the [[Battle of Fort Stevens]] in the [[District of Columbia]]. Back in the [[Shenandoah Valley]], Battle fought at the [[Third Battle of Winchester]], the [[Battle of Fisher's Hill]], and was wounded at the [[Battle of Cedar Creek]]. His wound did not permit him to return to duty before the close of hostilities.
==Postbellum career==
After the war, Battle returned to his legal practice in Tuskegee, Alabama. He received a pardon from President [[Andrew Johnson]] during his controversial self-reconstruction policy for the former Confederate states. Despite Battle's election by voters (who in 3 other states also elected former Confederate Generals as their erstwhile representatives in Congress), the United States House of Representatives denied him a seat (likewise the other former high Confederate officeholders) and instead imposed [[Congressional Reconstruction]] on the former Confederate areas until they adopted state Constitutions. In the 1870 census, Battle listed his occupation as "farmer"<ref>1870 U.S. Federal Census for Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama Family No. 620</ref> and in the 1880 federal census, he listed his occupation as "editor."<ref>1880 U.S. Federal Census for Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama Family No. 58.</ref> Battle also became active in Confederate veterans' organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/battle-cullen-andrews|title = Battle, Cullen Andrews &#124; NCpedia}}</ref>
In 1888, his son Rev. John W. Battle became pastor of a Baptist church in [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]], [[Craven County, North Carolina]]. In 1890, Battle moved to Craven County, and began editing the ''New Bern Journal''.  He was soon elected to the New Bern council, then its mayor.<ref>Sifakis, ''Who Was Who in the Confederacy''; no page cite given</ref> Meanwhile, Battle delivered speeches describing his experiences as a Confederate officer in many places and continued working on an autobiographical manuscript.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/battle-cullen-andrews|title = Battle, Cullen Andrews &#124; NCpedia}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Battle died in [[Greensboro, North Carolina]] on April 8, 1905. He had survived his wife, and lived with his son Rev. Battle, who had accepted a position  with a Baptist church in Greensboro, and later accepted another in [[Petersburg, Virginia]]. Battle is now interred at historic [[Blandford Cemetery]] in Petersburg, Virginia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2015/08/gen-cullen-battles-grave.html|title=Random Thoughts on History: Gen. Cullen Battle's Grave|date=18 August 2015}}</ref> His manuscript on the ''Third Alabama Infantry'' was not published in his lifetime; the original is now in the collection of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.<ref>[http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/reghist.html Website of the Alabama Department of Archives and History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120135301/http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/reghist.html |date=2008-11-20 }}</ref> His grandson [[John S. Battle]] became a lawyer and politician, and Governor of Virginia during the start of [[Massive Resistance]]. During [[World War II]] an army camp at Glenburnie Park, two miles up the [[Neuse River]] from New Bern, was named "Camp Battle" to honor the Confederate officer by Lieutenant Colonel Wilson H. Stephenson.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/battle-cullen-andrews|title = Battle, Cullen Andrews &#124; NCpedia}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}.
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. {{ISBN|978-0-8160-1055-4}}.
* [[Ezra J. Warner (historian)|Warner, Ezra J.]] ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. {{ISBN|978-0-8071-0823-9}}.
{{Portal bar|American Civil War|Biography|Law|Politics|United States}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Cullen A.}}
[[Category:1829 births]]
[[Category:1905 deaths]]
[[Category:Alabama lawyers]]
[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:Confederate States Army brigadier generals]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Hancock County, Georgia]]
[[Category:People of Alabama in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina]]