Collection Number: 03223

Collection Title: Battle Family Papers, 1765-1955

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust. Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the encoding of this finding aid.

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Size 18.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 10,000 items)
Abstract The Battle Family Papers document the life of William Horn Battle (1802-1879) of Louisburg, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, a white lawyer, legislator, judge, and trustee and professor of law at the University of North Carolina; Kemp Plummer Battle (1831-1919) of Chapel Hill and Raleigh, a white lawyer, president of the Chatham Railroad, who was active in state affairs during the Civil War, served as state treasurer and as University of North Carolina president and professor of history; and Kemp Plummer Battle's son, William James Battle (1870-1955), a white University of North Carolina and Harvard student, professor of classics, dean, and acting president, and professor of classics at the University of Texas and at the University of Cincinnati. The collection documents the family and many aspects of North Carolina history, including life on the Confederate homefront and social conditions during Reconstruction. There are also materials relating to the Episcopal Church, in which the Battles were active lay members, and some slave bills of sale and Chatham County Railroad items. Papers of Kemp Plummer Battle relate to his interest in the early history of North Carolina and of the University of North Carolina; his notes from the secret sessions of the North Carolina convention of 1861; clippings, notes, and drafts of articles and speeches; a facsimile of his journal, 1851-1853; and his correspondence and other papers of Battle family members, including his wife and children. Many letters are from Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), whose brother Charles Phillips married Kemp Plummer Battle's aunt, Laura Caroline Battle. Papers of William James Battle document family and personal affairs. They are especially rich in Battle family history, but do not include many items relating to his professional career. Volumes are chiefly student notes and personal accounts kept by William James Battle, 1885-1909.
Creator Battle (Family : Battle, William H. (William Horn), 1802-1879)
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Battle Family Papers #3223, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed January 1968) available.
  • Reel 1: 1765-1850
  • Reel 2: 1851-1859
  • Reel 3: 1860-September 1865
  • Reel 4: October 1865-23 May 1871
  • Reel 5: 25 May 1871-1875
Acquisitions Information
Received from the descendants of Kemp Plummer Battle and the estate of William James Battle through Kemp Davis Battle of Rocky Mount, N.C., in May and October 1956, with additions from Mrs. Andrew H. Patterson and Mary Patterson Fisher in August 1955; Kemp D. Battle in December 1960; Baily Webb of Durham, N.C., in August 1990; Edward H. Smythe of Saugenties, N.Y., in August 1991; transfers from other collections in the Southern Historical Collections; an addition from John M. Mebane, Jr., of Rocky Mount, N.C., in April 2005 (Acc. 100061); a transfer in April 2007 (Acc. 101116); an addition from Charlotte Battle Robbins in 2015 (Acc. 102341); and an addition from Alixandra Coolidge in December 2018 (Acc. 103493).
Additional Descriptive Resources
A detailed description of the collection produced in 1961 is available in box 1, folder 1.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Suzanne Ruffing, February 1996

Encoded by: Peter Hymas, October 2004

This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.

Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the encoding of this finding aid.

Revisions: Finding aid updated in August 2005 by Linda Sellars; in December 2018 by Nancy Kaiser; in December 2021 by Dawne Howard Lucas.

The Addition of April 2005 is arranged in the same way as, but has not been incorporated into, the original deposit of materials. In the addition, Series 5 has been added to hold professional papers of Kemp Plummer Battle.

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine ethnic identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual’s preference for ethnicity to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@email.unc.edu.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

William Horn Battle (1802-1879) lived near Louisburg, N.C., until late 1839, when he moved to Raleigh. In 1843, he moved to Chapel Hill and remained there until the closing of the University of North Carolina in 1868, when he went to Raleigh to live with his sons. Battle served as a Superior Court judge in 1840 and as a Supreme Court judge, 1852-1865. He was a Whig in politics and represented Franklin County in the House of Commons, 1833-1834. Battle was a professor of law at the University of North Carolina. The connection of the Law School with the University was nominal at the time, but Battle, as a prominent trustee, father of several University students, and close friend of University President David L. Swain, was quite active in University affairs.

Battle married Lucy Martin Plummer, daughter of a prominent family in Warren County, N.C. Their son, Kemp Plummer Battle, married his cousin, Martha Ann Battle (Pattie). Kemp Plummer Battle studied at the University of North Carolina, where he remained as a tutor for several years after graduation, studying law at the same time. When he secured his law license, he began to practice in Raleigh and soon thereafter married Pattie. They lived in Raleigh for 20 years. During this time, Kemp Plummer Battle practiced law and participated in public affairs as a member of the Convention of 1861; state treasurer, 1866-1868; and as an active member of the Whig Party before the Civil War, and, after the war, as a moderate conservative, and later Democrat. He was president of the Chatham Railroad and had interests in real estate ventures through the Southern Land Agency and Battle, Heck, and Company. Kemp Plummer Battle was active in the re-opening of the University of North Carolina. In 1876, he was elected president of the University and, in 1877, moved to Chapel Hill to begin work. He remained president until 1891, when he resigned to become professor of history, a post he held until his retirement in 1907.

William James Battle, youngest son of Kemp Plummer Battle, was born in Raleigh and lived in Chapel Hill after his father became president of the University of North Carolina. He was graduated from the University in 1888 and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. In 1889-1890, he was an instructor of Latin at the University of North Carolina. In 1893, he taught briefly at the University of Chicago, then moved to the University of Texas, where he served until 1917 as associate professor and professor of Greek, dean of the College of Arts (and later of the faculty) and as acting president. In 1917, William James Battle joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati, where he stayed until 1920 when he returned to Texas as professor of classical languages. He lived in Austin until his death in 1955. He was co-author of The Battle Book with Herbert B. Battle and Lois Yelverton.

Laura Caroline Battle Phillips (1824-1919) was the youngest child of Joel Battle and his wife Mary "Pretty Polly" Johnston Battle. Laura Battle was married to Professor Charles Phillips on 8 December 1847 at the Battle home in Chapel Hill, N.C. Their children included sons William and Alexander and daughters Mary and Lucy. Charles Phillips (1822-1889) was the son of James and Julia Vermeule Phillips of Chapel Hill, N.C. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, 1841; a tutor, 1844-1854; professor of mathematics, 1854-1868 and 1875-1879; and professor emeritus, 1879-1889. He taught at Davidson College, 1868-1874. Charles Phillips's sisiter, Cornelia Phillips (1825-1908), married James Munroe Spencer in 1855 and went with him to Alabama. At his death in 1861, she and her daughter Julia James "June" Spencer came back to Chapel Hill. During her last years, she lived in Cambridge, Mass., with her daughter and son-in-law, June and James Lee Love, and their children, Cornelia and James Spencer Love.

Below is a genealogical chart including most Battle family members who figure prominently in the papers. The children of James Smith Battle and Sallie Harriet Westray Battle and of Kemp Plummer and Susan Martin Plummer are not listed in chronological order by date of birth. Some Plummer family information is also included.

Plummer Family

For further information, see The Battle Book and Kemp Plummer Battle's Memories of an Old-Time Tar Heel .

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Papers give detailed coverage of the life of William Horn Battle and his family and many aspects of North Carolina history, including life on the homefront in the Confederate States of America during the Civil War and social conditions during Reconstruction. There are also materials relating to the Episcopal Church, in which the Battles were active lay members, and some slave bills of sale and Chatham County Railroad items. Papers of Kemp Plummer Battle relate to his interest in the early history of North Carolina and of the University of North Carolina. Papers of William James Battle document family and personal affairs. They are especially rich in Battle family history, but do not include many items relating to his professional career. Volumes are chiefly student notes and personal accounts kept by William James Battle, 1885-1909.

Series 1 and Series 2 are currently maintained as separate accessions based on restrictions that, at one time, covered materials in Series 2. Series 1 consists of papers focusing primarily on William Horn Battle and his son, Kemp Plummer Battle. Series 2 contains papers of William James Battle, son of Kemp Plummer Battle, that were restricted until 15 years after his death. Because both series include material for 1875-1919, researchers interested in this time period should consult both series for items of potential interest.

The addition of April 2005 contains correspondence and other papers of Battle family members, mostly Kemp Plummer Battle (1831-1919), but also his wife Martha Ann (Pattie) Battle (d. 1913), and their children, Cornelia Viola Battle Lewis (1857-1886), Kemp Plummer Battle Jr. (1859-1922), Thomas Hall Battle (1860-1936), and Herbert Bemerton Battle (1862-1929). Kemp Plummer Battle's other children appear less frequently in the correspondence. Many letters are from Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), whose brother Charles Phillips married Kemp Plummer Battle's aunt, Laura Caroline Battle. Professional papers of Kemp Plummer Battle include his notes from the secret sessions of the North Carolina convention of 1861, notes and drafts of articles and speeches by Kemp Plummer Battle, clippings of articles by or about Kemp Plummer Battle, and a few other items.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Battle Family Papers, 1765-1919.

About 3,000 items.

Processing note: See also Addition of April 2005.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence and other papers offering detailed documentation of the life of William Horn Battle and his family. Letters of his wife and family when Battle was away on the judicial circuit give a full account of events in Chapel Hill, N.C., as well as details of home life. Battle's letters, written as he traveled around North Carolina, describe a wide spectrum of people and events. When he served on the North Carolina Supreme Court, he traveled primarily to Raleigh and Morganton, where a western session of the Court was held. During these years, Battle was also professor of law at the University of North Carolina. Beginning in 1843, there is a great deal of material on the University scattered through the papers.

After Battle's marriage to Lucy Martin Plummer, there are many references in the papers to the activities of her brothers and sisters, as well as to those of the many Battle family relatives. As the children grew older and married, the families of their wives or husbands are documented. This is especially true for Martha Ann Battle (Pattie), whose family, after her marriage to Kemp Plummer Battle, is represented fully in the papers. After William Horn Battle's death in 1879, materials tend to focus on Kemp Plummer Battle and his family.

Both William Horn Battle and Kemp Plummer Battle were active in the public affairs of North Carolina and in the affairs of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the papers include correspondence with important political, civic, and church leaders. Also of interest are three deeds of sale for the purchase of slave girls by Mary Battle from Amos J. Battle on 23 October 1833, Robert Ricks of Edgecombe County on 21 December 1841, and Richard Battle on 1 October 1843, and an article by Kemp P. Battle on the Chatham County Railroad, of which he was president (filed with miscellaneous material). The article includes biographical information and also discusses the railroad's organization at the beginning of the Civil War to provide access to the iron and coal mines of Chatham County.

Folder 1-18

Folder 1

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Folder 6

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 9

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

Folder 18

1765-1848

Folder 19-35

Folder 19

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Folder 23

Folder 24

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Folder 29

Folder 30

Folder 31

Folder 32

Folder 33

Folder 34

Folder 35

1849-1856

Folder 36-50

Folder 36

Folder 37

Folder 38

Folder 39

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 42

Folder 43

Folder 44

Folder 45

Folder 46

Folder 47

Folder 48

Folder 49

Folder 50

1857-May 1864

Folder 51-65

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Folder 54

Folder 55

Folder 56

Folder 57

Folder 58

Folder 59

Folder 60

Folder 61

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

Folder 65

June 1864-April 1868

Folder 66-82

Folder 66

Folder 67

Folder 68

Folder 69

Folder 70

Folder 71

Folder 72

Folder 73

Folder 74

Folder 75

Folder 76

Folder 77

Folder 78

Folder 79

Folder 80

Folder 81

Folder 82

May 1868-1876

Folder 83-98

Folder 83

Folder 84

Folder 85

Folder 86

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Folder 90

Folder 91

Folder 92

Folder 93

Folder 94

Folder 95

Folder 96

Folder 97

Folder 98

1877-1888

Folder 99-111

Folder 99

Folder 100

Folder 101

Folder 102

Folder 103

Folder 104

Folder 105

Folder 106

Folder 107

Folder 108

Folder 109

Folder 110

Folder 111

1889-April 1902

Folder 112-128

Folder 112

Folder 113

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folder 116

Folder 117

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folder 120

Folder 121

Folder 122

Folder 123

Folder 124

Folder 125

Folder 126

Folder 127

Folder 128

May 1902-1919

Folder 129-141

Folder 129

Folder 130

Folder 131

Folder 132

Folder 133

Folder 134

Folder 135

Folder 136

Folder 137

Folder 138

Folder 139

Folder 140

Folder 141

Undated and miscellaneous

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. William James Battle, 1876-1955.

About 6,000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly personal papers, family correspondence, and genealogical material of William James Battle. These papers are almost entirely family correspondence, except for a few brief schoolboy items. From the time Battle entered Harvard University until the death of his father, there is much overlap in subject matter with Series 1. Included here are circular family letters. The Battles communicated amongst themselves with Kemp Plummer Battle circulating letters that William eventually collected. The more prominent correspondents include William James Battle's father, his brothers, especially Herbert Bremerton Battle and Thomas Hall Battle, and his nephews, especially Kemp Davis Battle, Hyman L. Battle, Ivey Foreman Lewis (professor of biology, University of Virginia), and Kemp Plummer Lewis. Scattered throughout the letters are references to the Rocky Mount Mills and the Erwin Mills, but there are few details about the companies and no records of their operations.

Except for references to William James Battle's work in family letters, there is little information on his career. There are many allusions to his difficulties in Texas during the gubernatorial administration of James Edward Ferguson, 1915-1917, and later during the administration of his wife, Miriam A. Wallace Ferguson ("Ma" Ferguson), 1925-1927. However, few details are given.

A major topic of these papers is The Battle Book , a family history compiled by Herbert B. Battle and completed after his death by William James Battle and Lois Yelverton. Many of the papers relate to information collected for this book or to the details of editing, publishing, and distributing it.

Folder 142-153

Folder 142

Folder 143

Folder 144

Folder 145

Folder 146

Folder 147

Folder 148

Folder 149

Folder 150

Folder 151

Folder 152

Folder 153

1876-1890

Folder 154-166

Folder 154

Folder 155

Folder 156

Folder 157

Folder 158

Folder 159

Folder 160

Folder 161

Folder 162

Folder 163

Folder 164

Folder 165

Folder 166

1891-April 1892

Folder 167-179

Folder 167

Folder 168

Folder 169

Folder 170

Folder 171

Folder 172

Folder 173

Folder 174

Folder 175

Folder 176

Folder 177

Folder 178

Folder 179

May 1892-September 1893

Folder 180-190

Folder 180

Folder 181

Folder 182

Folder 183

Folder 184

Folder 185

Folder 186

Folder 187

Folder 188

Folder 189

Folder 190

October 1893-August 1894

Folder 191-203

Folder 191

Folder 192

Folder 193

Folder 194

Folder 195

Folder 196

Folder 197

Folder 198

Folder 199

Folder 200

Folder 201

Folder 202

Folder 203

September 1894-February 1896

Folder 204-219

Folder 204

Folder 205

Folder 206

Folder 207

Folder 208

Folder 209

Folder 210

Folder 211

Folder 212

Folder 213

Folder 214

Folder 215

Folder 216

Folder 217

Folder 218

Folder 219

March 1896-October 1897

Folder 220-233

Folder 220

Folder 221

Folder 222

Folder 223

Folder 224

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Folder 228

Folder 229

Folder 230

Folder 231

Folder 232

Folder 233

November 1897-June 1899

Folder 234-248

Folder 234

Folder 235

Folder 236

Folder 237

Folder 238

Folder 239

Folder 240

Folder 241

Folder 242

Folder 243

Folder 244

Folder 245

Folder 246

Folder 247

Folder 248

July 1899-1901

Folder 249-262

Folder 249

Folder 250

Folder 251

Folder 252

Folder 253

Folder 254

Folder 255

Folder 256

Folder 257

Folder 258

Folder 259

Folder 260

Folder 261

Folder 262

1902-November 1905

Folder 263-278

Folder 263

Folder 264

Folder 265

Folder 266

Folder 267

Folder 268

Folder 269

Folder 270

Folder 271

Folder 272

Folder 273

Folder 274

Folder 275

Folder 276

Folder 277

Folder 278

December 1905-May 1907

Folder 279-295

Folder 279

Folder 280

Folder 281

Folder 282

Folder 283

Folder 284

Folder 285

Folder 286

Folder 287

Folder 288

Folder 289

Folder 290

Folder 291

Folder 292

Folder 293

Folder 294

Folder 295

June 1907-May 1909

Folder 296-313

Folder 296

Folder 297

Folder 298

Folder 299

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Folder 305

Folder 306

Folder 307

Folder 308

Folder 309

Folder 310

Folder 311

Folder 312

Folder 313

June 1909-December 1911

Folder 314-329

Folder 314

Folder 315

Folder 316

Folder 317

Folder 318

Folder 319

Folder 320

Folder 321

Folder 322

Folder 323

Folder 324

Folder 325

Folder 326

Folder 327

Folder 328

Folder 329

1912-May 1915

Folder 330-343

Folder 330

Folder 331

Folder 332

Folder 333

Folder 334

Folder 335

Folder 336

Folder 337

Folder 338

Folder 339

Folder 340

Folder 341

Folder 342

Folder 343

June 1915-May 1919

Folder 344-358

Folder 344

Folder 345

Folder 346

Folder 347

Folder 348

Folder 349

Folder 350

Folder 351

Folder 352

Folder 353

Folder 354

Folder 355

Folder 356

Folder 357

Folder 358

June 1919-1926

Folder 359-373

Folder 359

Folder 360

Folder 361

Folder 362

Folder 363

Folder 364

Folder 365

Folder 366

Folder 367

Folder 368

Folder 369

Folder 370

Folder 371

Folder 372

Folder 373

1927-1930

Folder 374-390

Folder 374

Folder 375

Folder 376

Folder 377

Folder 378

Folder 379

Folder 380

Folder 381

Folder 382

Folder 383

Folder 384

Folder 385

Folder 386

Folder 387

Folder 388

Folder 389

Folder 390

1931-1934

Folder 391-405

Folder 391

Folder 392

Folder 393

Folder 394

Folder 395

Folder 396

Folder 397

Folder 398

Folder 399

Folder 400

Folder 401

Folder 402

Folder 403

Folder 404

Folder 405

1935-April 1943

Folder 406-419

Folder 406

Folder 407

Folder 408

Folder 409

Folder 410

Folder 411

Folder 412

Folder 413

Folder 414

Folder 415

Folder 416

Folder 417

Folder 418

Folder 419

May 1943-1948

Folder 420-422

Folder 420

Folder 421

Folder 422

1949-1955 and undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Volumes, 1883-1909.

5 items.

Manuscript volumes belonging to William James Battle and consisting chiefly of school notebooks from his undergraduate years at the University of North Carolina.

Folder 423

Volume 1, 1885, 192 pp.

School notebook of notes taken by William James Battle in the chemistry class of Frank P. Venable at the University of North Carolina.

Folder 424

Volume 2, 1886, 237 pp.

School notebook of notes taken by William James Battle in the chemistry class of Frank P. Venable at the University of North Carolina.

Folder 425

Volume 3, 1883-1893, 100 pp.

Notebook with miscellaneous items by William James Battle. Included is "An Account of Consolidation of the Libraries [at the University of North Carolina] in June 1886"; charts of age, weight and height of young members of the Battle and Lewis families, 1880s and 1890s; and a miscellaneous bibliographic information.

Folder 426

Volume 4, 1892-1909, 150 pp.

Personal account book of William James Battle from his time at Harvard, Chapel Hill, Chicago, and Austin.

Folder 427

Volume 5, ca. 1888, 68 pp.

School notebook of notes taken by William James Battle in a constitutional law class at the University of North Carolina.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Pictures, 1855-1940s.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4A. Pictures (Addition of April 2005).

1 item.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100061

Image P-3223/15

Picture of L. M. [Lucy Martin] Battle

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Battle Family Papers, 1842-1918 (Addition of April 2005).

About 800 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100061

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence and a few other papers of Battle family members, mostly Kemp Plummer Battle (1831-1919), his wife Martha Ann (Pattie) Battle (d. 1913), and their children, Cornelia Viola Battle Lewis (1857-1886), Kemp Plummer Battle Jr. (1859-1922), Thomas Hall Battle (1860-1936), and Herbert Bemerton Battle (1862-1929). Kemp Plummer Battle's other children appear less frequently in the correspondence. Many letters are from Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), whose brother Charles Phillips married Kemp Plummer Battle's aunt, Laura Caroline Battle.

The earliest items in the series are a poem, 1842, written by Cornelia Phillips to her father, Dr. James Phillips, and a poem, 1865, by Cornelia Phillips Spencer, to Elizabeth H. Swain on the occasion of "Gen. A's surrender." Other items from the 1860s are letters from Cornelia Phillips Spencer to Kemp Plummer Battle in 1866 and to Mrs. Battle in 1869, and letters from Charles Phillips and Cornelia Phillips Spencer to their brother Samuel Phillips. All discuss life in Chapel Hill in the first years after the Civil War.

Letters, 1871-1875, are chiefly to and from Kemp Plummer Battle Jr. at Bingham School in Asheville, N.C. Most are to or from his parents or siblings, with a few from friends or cousins. The few letters from the latter half of the 1870s are mostly from Cornelia Phillips Spencer. There is also a long letter, 25 February 1879, from J. R. Hutchins to Kemp Plummer Battle about men who donated land to the University of North Carolina.

After 1880, most letters are either family letters, including those from Cornelia Phillips Spencer, or letters to Kemp Plummer Battle about historical research. There are also a few letters to and from Kemp Plummer Battle Jr. and other Battle family connections.

Cornelia Phillips Spencer's letters occasionally mention events or issues at the University of North Carolina, but mostly relate news of family members or friends in Chapel Hill. Spencer moved to Cambridge, Mass., in 1894 and lived with the family of her daughter, June Spencer Love, who was married to Harvard mathematics professor James Lee Love. After this time, her letters often report news of her grandchildren, Cornelia Love and James Spencer Love, as well as of her reading, visiting, and other activities. They also frequently mention Dr. J. Manning, Mrs. Welling, Margaret Mitchell, Laura Battle Phillips, Samuel Field Phillips, and Nora Phillips. A letter, 19 March 1906, relates Spencer's memories of the Union Army's entry into Chapel Hill in 1865.

Many letters to Kemp Plummer Battle appear to be responses to his requests for information about people or places in the history of North Carolina. Other letters are requests to him for information, especially about the history of the University of North Carolina, but also about other historical topics. In 1913, there are many letters complimenting Battle's book on the history of the University of North Carolina or ordering copies of it. Correspondents include Stephen B. Weeks, H. G. Connor, A. M. Waddell, Samuel A. Ashe, Archibald Henderson, and William B. Phillips.

Folder 428

1842, 1865-1869

Folder 429-432

Folder 429

Folder 430

Folder 431

Folder 432

1871-1872

Folder 433

1873-1874

Folder 434-436

Folder 434

Folder 435

Folder 436

[1871-1875]

Folder 437

1876-1879

Folder 438

1880-1883

Folder 439

1884-1889

Folder 440

1890-1895

Folder 441

1896

Folder 442

1897

Folder 443

1898-1901

Folder 444

1902-1904

Folder 445

1905

Folder 446

1906

Folder 447

1907-1909

Folder 448

1910

Folder 449

1911

Folder 450

1912

Folder 451-452

Folder 451

Folder 452

1913

Folder 453-457

Folder 453

Folder 454

Folder 455

Folder 456

Folder 457

1913: Letters of Condolence on Death of Martha Ann (Pattie) Battle

Folder 458

1914

Folder 459

1915

Folder 460

1916

Folder 461

1916: Kemp Plummer Battle 85th Birthday Letters

Folder 462

1917

Folder 463

1918, 1920

Folder 464

Undated: Kemp Plummer Battle

Folder 465

Undated: Cornelia Phillips Spencer

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. Kemp Plummer Battle Papers, 1861-1921 (Addition of April 2005).

About 200 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100061

Arrangement: by subject.

Professional papers of Kemp Plummer Battle include his notes from the secret sessions of the North Carolina convention of 1861, notes and drafts of articles and speeches by Kemp Plummer Battle, clippings of articles by or about Kemp Plummer Battle, and a few other items.

Battle's notes on the secret sessions of the Convention of 1861 include dated notes from meetings between 28 May 1861 and April 1862. Some notes are not dated. Some are fragmentary. For each date, Battle summarized statements by various members of the convention, e.g., Graham of Orange, Ruffin, Winslow, Pettigrew, Johnston, Ashe, Osborne. Some topics include disposition of troops, sea coast defense, and actions of citizens of eastern North Carolina.

Notes and drafts of articles and speeches include research on North Carolina schools, North Carolina in 1802, Elisha Mitchell, and other topics.

Clippings files include articles by Kemp Plummer Battle in The Woman Patriot, The Wachovia Moravian, The Churchman , the Raleigh News and Observer , the Asheville Daily Citizen , and many other newspapers, mostly on historical topics. Also included are reviews of Battle's History of the University of North Carolina and articles about Battle.

Writings by others are a history essay by J. F. Duncan; a handwritten copy of a review, 9 July 1857, of A Manual of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry; with some of its Applications , by Charles Phillips, Professor of Civil Engineering in the University of North Carolina. Raleigh, printed by William D. Cooke, 1857; and a pamphlet, 1921, "A Plea to Physicians to Employ Active Immunization, and So prevents Deaths from Diphtheria, " Department of Health, City of New York.

Folder 466-467

Folder 466

Folder 467

Notes: Convention of 1861, Secret Sessions

Folder 468-470

Folder 468

Folder 469

Folder 470

Research on North Carolina Schools

Folder 471

Biographical Sketches

Folder 472

History of the Great Seal and Coat of Arms of the State of North Carolina

Folder 473

Lords Proprietors

Folder 474

North Carolina in 1802

Folder 475

Objections to Court of United States

Folder 476

Saint Paul

Folder 477

S.P.G. Missionaries

Folder 478-486

Folder 478

Folder 479

Folder 480

Folder 481

Folder 482

Folder 483

Folder 484

Folder 485

Folder 486

Drafts and notes

Folder 487-489

Folder 487

Folder 488

Folder 489

Notes and drafts of speeches

Folder 490-495

Folder 490

Folder 491

Folder 492

Folder 493

Folder 494

Folder 495

Clippings

Folder 496

Writings by Others

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6A. Kemp Plummer Battle Papers, circa 1850s-1870s (Addition of April 2007).

1 item.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 101116

Scrapbook of portrait etchings of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary and political figures, circa 1850s-1870s

Oversize Volume SV-03223/1

Scrapbook, circa 1850s-1870s

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6A. Kemp Plummer Battle Papers, 1851-1853 (Addition of November 2015).

1 item.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 102341

A complete bound facsimile of the journal of Kemp Plummer Battle from 1851-1853. Battle graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1849, and the journal covers the period of his life immediately following his graduation, during which he remained in Chapel Hill and worked at the university as a tutor while studying for the Bar. The bound facsimile is a direct copy of the original and is not transcribed.

Box 36

Journal, 1851-1853

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6A. Kemp Plummer Battle Papers, 1856-1867 (Addition of December 2018).

1 item.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 103493

Book of Common Prayer (1850) owned by Kemp Plummer Battle, with handwritten notes on sermons, 1856-1867.

Box 36

Book of Common Prayer (1850), 1856-1867

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Oversize Papers

Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-3223/1a

Oversize papers

Includes certificates and architectural drawings.

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-3223/1b

Oversize papers

Includes certificates, correspondence, and other materials.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Microfilm

Microfilm copy (filmed January 1968) available.

Reel M-3223/1

1765-1850

Reel M-3223/2

1851-1859

Reel M-3223/3

1860-September 1865

Reel M-3223/4

October 1865-23 May 1871

Reel M-3223/5

25 May 1871-1875

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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