The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-06-28
COL. L. L. POLK.
A Brief Sketch of His L ife and Work in
the Service of His Countrymen
BY w, ]. PEELE-

! Le0nldas LaFayet>e Polk was born
IN AnsOn county, North Carolina, on
the oath of April, 1887.
Ills family is of Irish extraction and
| several Of its members were honOrably
distinguished in the early history of
TINS country. One of them was Thomas
| FOLK, q slgner OF the Mecklenburg
Declaration Of Independence and a col
| Onel IN the subsequent struggle for
freedom. Another, a distant relative.
James K. Polk, at a later period be
| came President of the United States.
He was the son of Andrew Polk, a
| farmer of Mec&lenburg county, and
was himself trained for the same pur-
suit. His early boyhood was spent
| upon the farm and at school in his ma
tive county. At the age Of fourteen
he lost both father and mother. In
| 1855 and 1856 he took a course relating
to scientific agriculture at Davidson
| College, and the next year at the age
OF twenty, he was married to Sarah p.
| Gaddy, daughter of Joel Gaddy, a
! prosperous farmer of Anson county.
About that time he purchased his
fathers old homestead from the execu-
tors and settled down to farming In
1860 he was elected by the Wings at
| the head Of his ticket q member Of the
| Legislature from his native county He
made the canvass openly as a Union
man. In the legislature along with
many other Wings he exerted his ut
most power to prevent the calling Of
| the State convention, but President
LincOln's proclamation calling on
| North Carolina for troops to invade
her sister States broke the back bone
of the opposition and converted him
and the others into open secessionists.
When in the fall of 1861 measures were
taken to put the State on a war DOt
ing, he was detailed under the commits
sion Of colonel to organize the militia
in his own county. This difficult and
delicate task he performed with much
credit until May, 1862, when he volun
teered as a private in the Twenty sixth
North Carolina regiment then com
manded by Colonel now Senator)
Vance. He declined the position of
captain offered him by his colonel but
did subsequently accept that of ser
jeant major. He was with his regi
ment in the battle at Kinston, New
Berne Washington and Plymouth, in
North Carolina, and in the seven days
fight around Richmond
When Vance was elected Governor
Of North Carolina, Colonel Polk,
though a mere youth, was chosen by
| the officers to present him With p sword
on his taking leave Of the regiment
He subsequently, joined the Forty third
| North Carolina regiment under Col
Onel Kenan and was with it in the bat
tie of Gettysburg where he received a
wound. He recovered in August and
re- Joined his regiment which was then
with Lees army Early in 1864 he
fought under Hoke at Plymouth and
later at Drury' Bluff under Beaure
gard. His regiment then again joined
Lees army as it was falling back from
SpOtsylvania and he was in the battles
at North Anna Bridge, Hanover juno
ton, Bethesda Church and other
points.
He also took part with his regiment
in the battles of Washington City,
vile and Kerns Town, being under fire
forty one time in the course Of that
summer. While serving in the army
of Virginia in 1864 he was elected by
his people at home to the legislature.
On leaving the army to accept this
honor, the officers of his regiment, in
which he then held the position of
Lieutenant, passed resolutions of com
pliment and regret. One of his first
} acts in the legislature was the intro
duction of the resolution relieving
wounded soldiers from the necessity of
| long journeys to headquarters to get
extensions of furloughs, which had
: often produced great hardships.
Accepting, after the war, the changed
} condition Of affairs, he with his faith
: full wife, who had been hitherto unused
to toll, set resolutely to work, she to
} her domestic duties and he to the
plough, where he continued for seven
years. In 1865 his neighbors sent him
to the State Convention. His service
} ended he returned to the plough. Ac-
cumulating little money he presently
opened a store. But his delight was
in public service, little or great, for
while he was farmer and merchant he
was also magistrate and editor and he
never saw the day when he would not
drop the most important private con-
Germ to serve the people in any capac-
ity. In 1873 he founded the village of
Polkton on. his farm, and shortly after,
} sold it off to settlers and began to de-
vote himself more exclusively to the
service of his State. AS chairman of
the committee for the State Grange, he
was the moving spirit in the establish
} ment of the Agricultural Department.
When in 1877 the act for its establish
ment was passed, he became its first
and most efficient commissioner. He
subsequently, resigned this Office when
!; he felt himself handicapped in the
MANAGEMENT of the department.
In 1884, 1885, 1886 and 1887 he was
the most powerful factor in the estab-
Iishment of the Agricultural and Me,
chanical College. When, in 1887. a
legislature elected as usual in the in
terest of 1.-The party" was going to ad-
journ without forwarding much else
but partisan interests, he called to-
gether a convention of the people con