Kemp Plummer Battle (December 19, 1831 – February 4, 1919) was an American lawyer, railroad president, university president, educator, and historian. He served as

North Carolina State Treasurer The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The current state treasurer is Dale Folwell. The office of state treasur ...

and as president of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in the nineteenth century.

Early years

Battle spent his early childhood in

Louisburg, North Carolina Louisburg is a town in Franklin County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,064. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The town is located approximately 29 miles northeast of the state capital, Ral ...

, where his father William Horn Battle practiced law and was active in politics. His grandfather was "the honest lawyer" Kemp Plummer.

University of North Carolina

He graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1849 as the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of his class. He was also a member of the

Dialectic Society Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing ...

while attending UNC. During the next five years he worked at the university, as tutor of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and then as tutor of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, while studying law under the tutelage of his father.

Law practice

He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and began a practice in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. In 1857, he was named a director of the rechartered Bank of North Carolina.

Civil War

In 1861 Battle was a delegate to the Secession Convention and signed the

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he served as president of the Chatham Railroad which existed primarily to haul coal from the mines in Chatham County to

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

armament factories. In 1862, Battle was elected by the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

to serve as a trustee of the University and held this position until 1868, when the entire board was thrown out by the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

General Assembly. He was elected Treasurer by the legislature in 1866 but removed from office in 1868 by the occupying U.S. military authorities because of his service to the Confederacy.

University of North Carolina

In 1874, Battle was reappointed a trustee to the University. He was named president of the University in 1876 and served ably until 1891, when he resigned to become Alumni Professor of History. He became a distinguished historian and compiled a significant body of scholarly work, the most prominent piece being his two-volum
History of the University of North Carolina
which is still today considered a significant study. The

Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, commonly known as DiPhi or The Societies, are the original collegiate debating societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and together comprise the oldest student organization at the Uni ...

, the oldest student group on UNC's campus, used to hold a history lecture in Battle's name and honor every year on the eve of University Day. However, the Societies have renamed and rededicated this lecture because of Battle's actions and legacy, which are inconsistent with their own values. Battle is buried in

Historic Oakwood Cemetery Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in North Carolina's capital, Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Historic Oakwood Cemetery contains two special areas ...

References

NC Treasurer Official siteHistoric Oakwood Cemetery

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Kemp P. 1831 births 1919 deaths Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery State treasurers of North Carolina Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 19th-century American politicians People from Louisburg, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni