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Robert B. Vance

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Robert B. Vance
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for Buncombe
In office
January 4, 1893 – January 9, 1895
Preceded byJ. P. Lowery
Succeeded byVirgil S. Lusk
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th district
In office
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1885
Preceded byZebulon B. Vance
(prior to Civil War, 1861)
Succeeded byWilliam H. H. Cowles
Personal details
Born
Robert Brank Vance

(1828-04-24)April 24, 1828
Buncombe, North Carolina
DiedNovember 28, 1899(1899-11-28) (aged 71)
Asheville, North Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionFarmer, merchant
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
RankBrigadier general
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Robert Brank Vance (April 24, 1828 – November 28, 1899), nephew of the earlier Congressman Robert B. Vance (1793–1827) and brother of Zebulon B. Vance, was a North Carolina Democratic politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms (1873–1885). He was chairman of the United States House Committee on Patents. During the American Civil War, Vance served in the Confederate States Army, where he reached the rank of brigadier general.

Early life

Vance was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina. He attended the common schools in the county and worked as a farmer and a merchant. He later served as the clerk of the court of pleas and quarter sessions in Buncombe County.[1] He served jointly as Secretary and Treasurer of the Holston Conference Female College for several years between the time it was acquired by the Holston Conference (c. 1851) and when it closed during the war.[2]

Civil War

Vance recruited a company known as the Buncombe Life Guards and was elected captain of the company. He was then elected colonel of the newly formed 29th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was sent to eastern Tennessee and took part in the defense of the Cumberland Gap and went with Edmund Kirby Smith into Kentucky. Vance commanded the brigade of James E. Rains after his death at the Battle of Murfreesboro. This command was short lived as Vance contracts typhoid fever. He was promoted to brigadier general to rank from March 4, 1863. After he recovered from his illness, he was assigned to Western North Carolina. He was captured on January 14, 1864 at Crosbys Creek, Tennessee (by Sergeant Everett W. Anderson of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry) and was held at Fort Delaware until March 10, 1865.[1][3]

Post-War career

Vance was elected to Congress six times, serving from 1873 to 1885. After losing his seat in Congress, Vance served as federal Assistant Commissioner of Patents and later was elected to one term in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1893–1895).[3]

Freemasonry

Robert B. Vance was Master of Mount Hermon Lodge #118, located in Asheville, N.C. in 1866, 1867 and 1873.[4] He was Grand Master of Masons of North Carolina in 1868 and 1869.[5]

Death

Vance died near Asheville, North Carolina on November 28, 1899. He and his brother Zebulon are both interred in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.[3][6]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Warner, p. 313.
  2. ^ Price, Richard Nye (1903). Holsten Methodism from Its Origin to the Present Time, Vol. IV: From the year 1844 to the year 1870.
  3. ^ a b c Warner, p. 314.
  4. ^ "Mount Hermon Masonic Lodge". Mount Hermon 118. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  5. ^ "The Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina". Raleigh, North Carolina: The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons of North Carolina.
  6. ^ "Riverside Cemetery". nps.gov. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

References

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Civil War
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th congressional district
1873–1885 		Succeeded by
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