The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-11-12
ROBERT FRANKLIN ARMFIELD.

StatesvilIe Mascot.
At 9:O5 o'clock yesterday morning eX-
Judge Robert +. Armfield died. Nhell
he died the greatest intellect i'll Norm
Carolina was stilled and the most loved
and honOred citizen of Iredell county
was removed from among men.
Born II poor boy, he secured his own
education by indomitable pluck and
fought his way to the head of his pro
fession. the law, by the force of his
mighty intellect
When North Carolina called for vol
unteers for the civil war Judge Arm
field went to the front. and he was sub
seouently elected lieutenant colonel OF
the 3Sth Regiment. He served in the
field with honor and distinction until
n severe wound rendered further mill
tary service impossible. No Drawer or
truer man followed the great captain
of the South than Lieutenant Colonei
Armfeld.
His political career was long and bril-
liant. He was n member and President
of the State Senate. solicitor of his
district. member of Congress for two
terms and judge of the Superior Court.
He was frequently urged to become a
candidate for the Democratic nomlna-
ton for Governor and was urged for
the United States Senate when the Ia
mcnted Vance died. He was never an
officc-seekcr and frequently prevented
his friends from comforting office upon
him: ne declined an appointment as SUI
lcrior Court judge, which was offered
him four years before he went upon the
hpuch. lie made one of the ablest Pres
id,nts the State Senate ever had, rank
eel with the able men of the nation i'll
-,-..srcss and wore the ermine as Il wor-
thy successor Of Ruffin and Badger.
But brilliant as his military and po-
liticnl services have been, it is as Il
lawyer in the full practice of his pro-
fesSion that he won his most lasting
fame. He was the greatest criminal law
yer who ever lived in North Carolina.
He practiscd in fifteen counties regu-
larry and capital case was rarely tried
in as many more that he was not the
leading counsel for the defense. His
management of the testimony and eX
animation of the witnesses were superb.
Before jury he was almost irresist-
able In argument, pathOs, eloquence
and force his court house speeches were
Ciceronian. Probably he appeared in
more trials where life was at stake than
any other North Carolinian, living or
dead. and. if we mistake not, no one
Of them suffered death at the hands of
the law. "That man will not be hung
Armfeld defends him" became almost a
proverb in Western North Carolina. We
never expect to see his like in our courts
again. Though pre-eminent as a crimi-
nal lawyer. he was also eminent in the
civil practice.
.4In private life Judge Armfield was the
agreeable companion and the true friend.
He delighted to encourage the ambitions
Of the young, and many lawyers of emf
hence in North Carolina today are mem
bers of their ,time4honored profession
by reason Of his encoura ging words and
in many cases more substantial aid. If
he was a true friend, he had true friends.
His friends loved him with a devotion
like that of the friends of Henry Clay.
He was their leader. and where he led
they followed. Never man to seek the
applause of the multitude he, neverthe-
less, commanded the confidence and es-
TEEN of the people in a marked degree.
Massive in physique. striking in appear
ance and strong and brilliant in mind.
he was the greatest man we ever