- Title
- Our state
-
-
- Date
- May 1999
-
-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Our state
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tar heel history
by Nancy Smith Midgctu*
Forgotten Hero
Col. David Coleman of Buncombe County served the South well during the Civil War.
leading the 39th North Carolina Regiment ofVolunteers. But few know of his courageous
leadership that contributed to the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Da\i<l Coleman < 1 N24-1 883) is not
one of those famous North
( .irolim.ins whose exploits spring
readily to mind when we hear their
names. His uncle. l)a\id Swain. North
Carolina's governor from 1833-1835 and
president of the I’nheixitv of North
Carolina from I N36 until his death in
1868. is much better known to Students
of the states histoty. ( lolcuian’s (xililical
and military career, it seems, was largely
forgotten even lief ore his death. In his
later years, the Asheville resident, a
<|uaint hacheloi with a reputation for
ecccntiic itv. could he seen strolling the
streets of tlie small mountain community
with his hands < lasjxd lx-hind him. as il
deep in thought.
Tlie rumor aroutMl town was that he
never got
«лег
the
сс»11а|>ч-
of the
Confederacy. I Ic had served the South
well during the ( 4\il War. leading the
39th North Carolina Regiment
«*1
Volunteer*, a unit he had raised from
nearby counties. Returning to Asheville
after the war. he led a quiet, almost reclu¬
sive life. < >nlv a few old-limcis
remembered the vonngci
David Coleman who. as a ris¬
ing |K»liti< al stai during the
turbulent 1850s. had given
Zebulon \ a nee a real inn foi
his money. Fewet still knew of
his courageous leadership
that contributed to the
Confederate vie torv at tlie
Battle of Chickamauga. In
the 1880s Coleman, a soft*
spoken man with a deep
sense of honor, was a
«
urious
anachronism in rapidly nmd-
cmi/ing Asheville.
An impressive pedigree
The Colemans first arrived in
Buncombe County in 1805 when David’s
father. William. migrated from ( alximts
County. He married ('aniline Swain,
daughter of the local postmaster, and
both families were destined to make their
mark on the
май1.
In addition to ( lov.
David Swain, ( oleman's younger half*
brother rhaddeus. a railroad engineer,
labored with others to r«inqiici the
mountain IxMwccn < )ld Fort and
Asheville, bringing the tracks — and the
visitors — to the stale’s western region in
1880.
(Ош
Stair, Januaiv 1997). Thad-
deus’ daughter, Sara. would
1хчоше
the
wife of William Sidney Potter.
Young David followed in his uni le's
fcxMtfeps out uf the mountains.
Graduating from I NC in 1842. lie
received an ap|x>iiitiuciit as a midship
iiuui in the I’-S. Navy. proUiMv facilitated
by his uncle's friendship with ( Icorgc E.
Badger. See retaiv of the Navv in 1811. Ills
eight vr.us in the navv included gradua¬
tion from the newlv o|x*ned I'.S. Naval
Academy at Annapolis and lour touts at
sea. Promotions, however, weie slow in an
era of peace*, and
«о.
in 1850 < oleinau
resigned his commission and icliinied to
Asltevillc to read law with John W
Woodfin. a talented buyer in tlie area.
Augustus Mcnimon. a coiueni|x»r.iiv of
Coleman's who became < ihiel | list ice of
the North Carolina Supreme* ( «nut.
noted in Ills journal at the time that
Coleman was a “veiv pleasant man” with
“gentlemanly mantlets'' who “is liked In
all who make his acqtiainianc e."
Coleman lost no time plving this local
popularity into a politic al < airci.
Although his I N52 hid for a seat in the
N.C. Senate was unsuc
«
essfwl. in I N5 1 the
ЗОуеаг
bwyvi successful!* challenged
the inctunbem. NichoLis Wcxxlliu, liroth-
er of John Wcxxlliu. Ironic allv in that
sanx* election a young Zeb Nance, then
Buncombe County solicitor,
к>оксч1
to
expand his |x>litic al horizons and won a
seat in the N.( - 1 louse. In Asheville*, with
alxnit 400 residents at the* time, il was a
nutlet of time before these two would
meet on a collision < onise lot
the
чипе
oilier.
Voice male
llut moment came two
years later, in I N50. when
Name, a memlx'i ol the rapid¬
ly disintegrating Whig Part*,
challenged the Democrat
Colenun lot his stale senate
scaL Coleman retained the
seat. largrh In convinc ing the
voter* that liunv ot Nance’s
jxilitie al allies wen* rralb
memhcis ol the Republic an
Panv and advoc ales ol anti-
When Coleman assumed command
of the brigade he saw no friendly
troops moving down from the north.
and the brigade that had been
to his left had not yet passed through
the final strip of woods.
He was the front line.
May 1999 Our Sutc 87
