Zebulon Baird Vance Zebulon Baird Vance ( May 13 , 1830 – April 14 , 1894 ) was a Confederate military officer in the American Civil War , the 37th and 43rd Governor of North Carolina , and U . S . Senator . A prodigious writer , Vance became one of the most influential Southern leaders of the Civil War and postbellum periods . Childhood . Zebulon Vance was born in Buncombe County , North Carolina near present - day Weaverville , the third of eight children . His family is known to have owned a relatively large number of slaves ( 18 ) . His uncle was Congressman Robert Brank Vance , for whom his elder brother , Robert B . Vance , was named . At age twelve he was sent to study at Washington College in Tennessee , now known as Washington College Academy . The death of his father forced Vance to withdraw and return home at the age of fourteen . It was during this time that he began to court the well - bred Miss Harriette Espy by letter . To improve his standing , Vance determined to go to law school . At the age of twenty - one , he wrote to the President of the University of North Carolina , where he was a member of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies , former Governor David L . Swain , and asked for a loan so that he could attend law school . Governor Swain arranged for a $ 300 loan from the university , and Vance performed admirably . By 1852 Vance had begun practicing law in Asheville , and was soon elected county solicitor ( prosecuting attorney ) . By 1853 , he and Harriette Espy were married , and they would subsequently have four sons . Civil War . By the time the ordinance of secession had passed in May 1861 , Vance was a captain stationed in Raleigh , commanding a company known as the " Rough and Ready Guards , " part of the Fourteenth North Carolina Regiment . That August , Vance was elected Colonel of the Twenty - sixth North Carolina . The Twenty - sixth engaged in battle in New Bern in March 1862 , where Vance conducted an orderly retreat . Vance also led the Twenty - sixth at Richmond . The Twenty - sixth was ultimately destroyed at the Battle of Gettysburg , losing more than 700 of its original 800 members , though Vance at that time was no longer in military service . In September 1862 , Vance won the gubernatorial election . In the Confederacy Vance was a major proponent of individual rights and local self - government , often putting him at odds with the Confederate government of Jefferson Davis . For example , North Carolina was the only state to observe the right of habeas corpus and keep its courts fully functional during the war . Also , Vance refused to allow supplies smuggled into North Carolina by blockade runners to be given to other states until North Carolinians had their share . Vance ' s work for the aid and morale of the people , especially in mitigating the harsh Confederate conscription practices , inspired the nickname " War Governor of the South . " Vance was re - elected in 1864 . On May 29 , 1865 , William Woods Holden was appointed Governor by President Andrew Johnson . Post - War career . Governor Vance was arrested by Federal forces on his birthday in May 1865 and spent time in prison in Washington , D . C . Per President Andrew Johnson ' s amnesty program , he filed an application for pardon on June 3 , and was paroled on July 6 . After his parole , he began practicing law in Charlotte , North Carolina . Among his clients was accused murderer Tom Dula , the subject of the folk song " Tom Dooley . " Governor Vance was formally pardoned on March 11 , 1867 , though no formal charges had ever been filed against him leading to his arrest , during his imprisonment , nor during the period of his parole . In 1870 , the state legislature elected him to the United States Senate , but due to the restrictions placed on ex - Confederates by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution , he was not allowed to serve . In 1876 , Vance was elected Governor once again ( during which time he focused on education ) , and in 1879 the legislature again elected him to the United States Senate . This time he was seated , and he served in the Senate until his death in 1894 . After a funeral in the U . S . Capitol , Vance was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville . Starting in about 1870 , Vance gave a speech hundreds of times he called " The Scattered Nation , " which praised the Jews and called for religious tolerance and freedom amongst all Americans . In 1880 , Vance married Florence Steele Martin of Kentucky . Quotes . About Vance . " He was the Mount Mitchell of all our great men , and in the affections and love of the people , he towered above them all . As ages to come will not be able to mar the grandeur and greatness of Mount Mitchell , so they will not be able to efface from the hearts and minds of the people the name of their beloved Vance . " – T . J . Jarvis , Governor from 1879 to 1885 By Vance . " The purpose of war is to explore each other . " Unconfirmed . " A vale of humility between two mountains of conceit . " Supposedly said by Vance about North Carolina . The two mountains of conceit are Virginia and South Carolina . This is also attributed to Alexander Hamilton , but probably predates both Hamilton and Vance . Legacy . There are several monuments dedicated to Vance : Several locations and schools in North Carolina bear Vance ' s name :