Soldiers Who Became Judges
.Mr. Lawrence lias coinpilcil an impressive
list of soldiers in I lie Revolutionary War.
Civil War anil World War wlio later became
members ot 1 lie judiciary in North Carolina.
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Chief Justice. Thomas
Ruffin. was so famous a lawyer
that his opinions wen* oiled as
authority by even the English courts
of Chancery, but we have I tad Caro¬
lina judges who served their slate as
bravely in battle as did Ruffin in the
piping limes of pcflue.
The very first federal judge in Car¬
olina. Col. John Stokes, was not only
a hero of the Revolution, but in a
tierce encounter with tin* British un¬
der Tarleton near the Waxhaw set¬
tlements. he received a sabre cut
which severed bis right arm. ami he
sustained other desperate wounds so
that his very life hung in the balance
for months. The county of Stokes
hears his honored name. 1 1 is succes¬
sor on the federal bench, John Sit-
graves of Craven, was the one to
whom President Jefferson wrote that
if he lived long enough he would make
a tine lawyer. He was a lieutenant
during the Revolution, and at the
battle of Camden served as aide-de-
camp to our Governor Richard Cas¬
well.
On the bench of the state, one of
the first three judges named thereto
was Samuel Ashe of New Hanover,
who had served as a member of the
Halifax Convention which adopted
the Constitution and which, as judge,
lie swore to uphold. During the Revo¬
lution he served as paymaster of the
lirst Carolina regiment of the Conti¬
nental line.
Other Judges Who Were Soldiers
Glance with me now at just a few
of those who served the South during
the War Between the States and
thereafter sat u|h>ii the woolsack.
l»ook first at our chief justices — Cap¬
tain W. T. Fain-loth of Wayne, legis¬
lator and solicitor: Lieutenant Colo¬
nel Walter Clark of Halifax, drill-
master at fourteen! President Davis
said that the Junior Reserve regi¬
ments were grinding the seed corn
of the Confederacy, and when you
consider the age of this drillmaster
you will have to admit <uir President
was right.
In the list of colonels we find Ris-
deu Tyler Bennett of Anson, severely
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1C. C. LAWRENCE
wounded, as much a master of Eng¬
lish prose us was Mark Twain and
famous ns a writer of obituaries.
Then we have Major James C. Mc¬
Rae of Cumberland, legislator ami
judge of both the superior and su¬
preme courts, professor of law at the
1'niversity. Now comes Major Al¬
phonse C. Avery of Burke, whose
three brothers served as colonels and
were all killed, and whose fourth
brother, a captain, was severely
wounded.
When we come to the captains, we
have A. W. Graham of Granville, dis¬
tinguished sou of a famous sire,
wounded at Gettysburg, and Assist¬
ant Adjutant General of Carolina,
legislator and judge: Captain Roliert
B. Peebles of Northampton: coura¬
geous Captain Bob, who knew how to
light in peace as well as in war:
Captain Charles Mathew Cooke of
Franklin, wounded at Petersburg,
Secretary of State, philosopher of
the bench the Benjamin Franklin
of Carolina.
In the rank of the "shavetails" we
have Lieutenant Walter A. Mont¬
gomery, wounded at Chancelloraville
and again at Gettysburg.
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Justice of the Supreme Court ; Lieu¬
tenant Garland S. Ferguson of Hay¬
wood. wounded at Drewry’s Bluff
and desperately at Petersburg, leg¬
islator and solicitor.
In the Rank and File
When we come to the rank and file,
what do we find! Here is Private
William L. Norwood, wounded at
Vicksburg: and Thomas R. Purnell
of Wake, State Librarian, legislator,
Federal District Judge. You may re¬
call Imw John Allen of Mississippi
got elected to Congress upon his plea
that the private Confederate soldier
was entitled to representation, and
that he was the only one in all Missis¬
sippi. We went him one better, for
hen* in Carolina we possessed two as
above set forth.
Believe it or not, I have before me
a picture of Captain Henry A. Grady
of the Spanish- American War. I re¬
fuse to state just how many miles of
gold braid adorns bis natty uniform,
but I will say that the epaulettes he
wore would grace the shoulders of
any high admiral of the licet, or those
of any diplomat at a Now Year’s re¬
ception at the White House. Before
my friend got into action, we had
bought the Philippines and a lot of
trouble and the war was over. But
hail it lasted, my Judge would have
shown as much courage on the battle¬
field as he did at Goldsboro when,
pistol in hand, he prevented a lynch¬
ing right in his very courtroom.
Come we now to the World War
and the fields of France, hear the
massed bands play the "Marseil¬
laise" and listen at the roar of the
throngs which crowd the Arc de
Triumphe on Armistice Day. Whom
have we here in Carolina among those
now on the bench, who served cause
and country in the Great War?
First we have Henry L. Stevens of
Duplin, son of an outstanding legal
sire, Lieutenant 318th Machine Gun
Battalion, who served a year on Flan¬
ders Fields. In 1925 he became State
Commander of the American Legion:
and later he was elected as National
Commander of that order — the only
Carolinian ever so honored.
Next we have Hubert E. Olive of
Davidson, Lieutenant 317th Field
Artillery, with a war service of more
than two years, half of which was in
France, a legislator before he became
a judge. He possesses a distinction
possessed by no other Carolina judge,
for he lias served as Commander-in-
Chief. When the forces of McDonald
under General Itainous Valentine at¬
tacked the
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trenches held by the
troops under General Olive, that
General certainly put on a show — but
General Valentino gave him a run for
bis money! They made Judge Olivo
State Commander of the Legion in
1934.
Come we now to the wounded and
observe the figure of my friend Don
Phillips of Richmond, Lieutenant
125th Infantry, who served on five
fronts and was both wounded and
(Continued on
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twenty-fire)
