STEPHEN Bo WEEKS CLASS OF 16861 PUR THE JOmS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY OF THE TIE WEEKS COLILECTnON OF C378 UK3 m UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00039136988 This book must not be token from the Librory building. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOObatt ADDRESS DEI.IVERED BEFOKE THE fuo Itl^i'acg Sod^li^^ UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, June 1st, 1865, BY HOX. WM. n. BATTLE, LL. D., OF CHAPEL HILL. E A L E I G H : WM. B. SMITH & CO 1866. UNIVERSITY OF N. C, } Dialectic Hall, Oct. SOtJi, 1865. V We, the undersigned, in behalf of the Dialectic Society, would tend^ you our sincere thanks for the very excellent Address delivered before the two Literary Societies at our last annual commencement, and request ft copy of the same for publication. We would, individually, enter our solicitations that you comply witk the above, since circumstances deterred many from hearing its dcUvcry. Very respectfully, R. W. MEANS, ) P. B. MEANS, J- Committee. E. L. MOREHEAD, ) Hon. W. H. Battlk. Chapel Hill, Od. ZQth, 1865. My Dear Sirs : I thank you for the kind terms in which you notice the Address ■which I delivered before the two Societies at the last annual commence- ment of the Uuiversity. The same motive Avhich prompted me to yield to the wislies of the Society, under whose appointment the Address was made, now impels me to send a copy to be disposed of as the Society may think proper. Very truly yours, WILL: H. BATTLE. To ]\ressr3. R. W. Means, ^ P. B. Means, > Committee. ( E. L. Moreuead, \ ADDRESS. YouxG OE^'TLK^[E:\ of tiii-; Dialectic and Piiilaxtiiropic Scx^^eties : I appear l>etbre y(ju upon an occasion of extraordinary inter- -^:it. A war, t lie parallel to wliicli does not appear upon the records of liistoiy, lias just closed. Its results have been dis- astrous to our section of tlie country. Among; the victims of its fury, tliere liave been ]ii :)ne more conspicuous than the higher institutions of learninu-. One by one, the universities and col- leges of the South have been prostrated by tlie violence of tlie i?torm. All, save our l)eloved Alma Ifater, ]i(i\e been coin- pelled to suspend their exercises and to close tlieir doors. Here silone the college Ijell has not ceased to call students to the Chapel for prayers, and to tiie Professors"' rooms for re<-itatioa« It must be confessed, however, that our light has been almost -extinguished, and that only a spark of life still exists to semi *jut a feeble ray. To this distinction of continued existence, «iiir University is indebted, under (rtid, to the indomitable en- ergy of her Board of Trustees, and to the devoted attaclimeiit «»fher President and Faculty. All honor to them for their noble perseverance in tiie cause of science and literature. Jfnter arma silent leges, hut it seems that the love of leaniing" is stronger than the laws, for it lias still tlourished amidst i\\e 4iiu of arms. At sucli an era in the progress of our University, I have thought, my young friends, tliat I could not better occupy your attention for a fevv' moments than by giving you a brief #ketc]i of its origin and history, adding a few remarks upon the influence which it has had upon the country. It is the boast of our State that in its organic law, provision 6 h made for the instruction of her youth in all useful learning. By the 41st section of the Constitution it is declared : " That a school or schools shall be established by the legislature for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at low prices ; and all useful learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more universities." The merit of those who adopted this wise provision cannot be duly appre- eiatedy without adverting for a moment to the time at, and the circumstances under, which it was made. The war of the Revolution had but fairly commenced, and the Declaration of Independence had only a few months before been promulga- ted, wlien a convention of the people met at the town of Hali- fax lor the purpose of preparing a constitution or form of gov- ernment for the State. The country was poor, the people generally but slightly educated, and tlic war then raging wa» of doubtful issue, yet the members of the convention were re- solved that their posterity should enjoy those advantages of education which had been denied to the most ot them. There can be no doubt that a large majority of those members had been instructed onh^ in the plain rules of reading, ^\riting and arithmetic, but destitute as they were of book learning, they had, in the business of social and political life, improved their mental faculties, and had thereby educated themselves to a due appreciation of the rights and privileges to which, as free- men, they were entitled. A few, and but a few of them, were men who had been more fa\ored by fortune, and were well instructed in all the branches of a classical and scientific edu- cation. Prominent among these were Richard Caswell, Thomas Burke, John Ashe, Samuel Ashe, Abner Xasli, Da- vid Caldwell, Joseph Hewes, Thomas Jones, Allen Jones^ Willie Jones, Cornelius Harnett, Archibald McLane and WaightstillJAvery. Richard Caswell Avas president of the convention, and Thomas Burke was chairman of the commit- tee on the constitution, Thev were both eminent lawyers^ and it is to them and their enlightened compeers that we are indebted for that section in the constitution from which have emanated our University, our Colleges and our noble system of Common Schools. The constitution was ratified the 18th day of December, 1776, and the war ceased by a definitive treaty of peace which secured our independence in September, 1783 ; but it was not until the year 1789 that the financial condition of the State justified the legislature in making the necessary expenditures for the foundation of a University. In that year the charter of this institution was granted, and among the patriotic and enlightened members who advocated it, no one stood more conspicuous than Gen'l William R. Davie. Of his efforts on that occasion, the late Judge Mur- phy, who delivered the first annual address before your So- cieties, thus spoke in that address : '• The General Assembly resolved to found our University. I was present in the House of Commons, when Davie addressed that body upon the bill granting a loan of money to the Trustees for erecting the buildings of this University, and although more than thirty years have since elapsed, I have the most vivid recollections of the greatness of his manner and the powers of his eloquence upon that occasion.'' After the grant of the charter, the first object which engaged the attention of the Trustees, was to fix upon a site for the institution. The first Board consisted of forty members who resided in various parts of the State, and were all men distinguished for position and influence. The committee appointed by them for the purpose, after a careful examination of many places which had been suggested to them as suitable, selected Chapel Hill. This place was so called from its being tlie site of one of the ante-revolutionary churches of the English Establishment. The church l)uilding is said to have stood on the lot now occupied by ( 'apt. llicli- ard S. Ashe. It may not be uninteresting to revert to the terms in which the location wa-* spoken of in one of the pub- lic journals of that day : " The se^it of the UiiivGi'sity is on the stiininit of a very liigh ridge. There irf a gentle deciivitj of 300 yards to the AilLige, wliich is situated in a liandsonie phiin considerably lower than the site of the public buildings, but so greatly elevated above the neighboring country as to furnish an extensive landscape. The ridge appears to commence about half a mile directly east of the college buildings, \vhere it rises abruptly several hun- dred feet. This peak is called Point Prospect. Tlie peak country spreads oif below, like the ocean, giving an immense liemisphere, in which the eye seems to be lost in the extent of space.'' The building committee, having in the year 1 TU-^ secured a competent contractor in the person of Mr. James Patterson, of Chatham county, the 12th day of October in that year, was fixed upon for laying the corner stone of the first l)uilding. The following account of the ceremony subsefpiently api'iear- ed in the journal to vrhich we have already referred : " A large number of the brethren of the Masonic order from Hillsbo- rough, Chathau], Granville and AVarren attended to a£sist at the ceremony of placing the coi'iier stone ; and the procession for this purpose moved from Mr. Patterson's at 12 o'clock in the fol}ov\"ing order: The Masonic brethren in their usual or- der of procession, the Conmiissioners, the Trustees Jiot Com- * missioners, the Hon. Judge McKay and other public oflicers, then followed the gentlemen of the viciiiity. On approaching the south end of the building the Masons opened to the right and left, and the Commissiijners, c*cc., passed tlirough and took their place. The Masonic procession then moved on, round the foundation of the buikbng, and halted with their usual ceremonies opposite -tlic south-east corner, where AVilliam Pichard^on Davie, Grand Master cf the Fraternity, etc., in this State, assisted by two Masters of Lodges and four other oiiicers, laid the corner stone, enclosing a plate to commemor- ate the transaction." The Pev. Dr. McCorklc, a member of the Board of Ti-us. 9 teen, tlieii iiuidc an a])pn»})riate and eloquent address to Lis fellow nieiabcis and the spectators, which closed as follows : " The seat of the rniver.-ity was next sought for, and the pub- lic eve selected Chapel Hill, a lovely situation, in the centre of the State. ;it a convenient distance froiu the capital, in a hoalrhv ;ind fertile neiii-lihorhoud. Mny this hill lie for reli- irion as the ancient hill of Zion ; and for literature and the muses may it surpass the ancient Parnassus ! AVe this day enjf.tv tlie pleasure of seeing: the corner stone of tlie I ni\-crsity, its fnundations. its nuiterial. and the arcliitect- of the buildings, afid we hope ere lonii: to -ee its stately walls iuid spire ascend- mreitared, Mr. ITinti\as a})poiiited Professor of Mathe- nuitics. ])ut he ijeld tlie oiriee only oU',' year, when lie was suc- ceeded by the Rev. .iose[ih C alilwell, who v>'as al.-o a grailuate of Pi'i'nceton. au;l a nati\'e of Xevr Jersey. The tirst com- me7ice:i!ent. at which the degree of J>achelor of Arts ',vas con- ferred, ^ra.- held in tlie year ITl'S. when seven y(.)ung gentle- men, among' whom wa> Mr. Hinton .lames, received that de- gree. For several years after the erecticn of the lirst building:-, the iVccoiiim<.)dations for the students, both in the collegiate and tlie 10 preparatory department, remained nearly the same, Tlie old Chapel and tlie East were the only edifices, and the latter \va* then only two stories high, and contained but sixteen rooms. The old chapel was the Aula Personica in which the degrees were for many years conferred. The South building was commenced, carried up a story and a half, and then left for a long time in an unfinished state. We are told by Dr. Hooper in his admirable address before Alumni of this institution, entitled "Fifty Years Since," that the stu- dents who could not well prepare their lessons in the crowded dormitories of the East, were in the habit of erecting cabins, in the corners of the unfinished brick walls of the South, wher& they could pursue their studies to better advantage. .Hut l)r, Caldwell, who was then President, could not long endure thi* Btate of things ; and by his active exertions, the sum of twelve thousand dollars was raised by subscription, which enabled the Trustees to have the South building completed. This wa* done in 1812 ; and about the year 1821-, the West building was erected and an additional story was put upon the East. Shortly afterwards the new chapel was built ; and in 181-8 ex- tensions were added to the East and West buildings, whicli was done mainly for the accommodation of the two Literary Societies, whose rooms in the third story of tlie South had be- come too small for tlie in(^reased numl)er of members. The buildings since erected liave been the University library, and the wino;s to the East and West. The two last were fi.nished and prepared for occupation only a short time before the com- mencement of the war. The beautiful and commodious So- ciety Ilal Is contained in tliem have been 1he admiration of all l)eholders. At tlie commencement of the institution, and for several years afterwards, the range of studies was very contracted, (xrcek was not introduced into the course until 1804, and in the year 1807, we learn that Morse's Geography was one of the principal studies of the Sophomore class. The higher 11 mathematics were not introduced until tlie Rev. l^rflia Mitch- ell came here as professor of that science in ISIO. The same year witnessed the advent of Denison Olmsted as the first Pro- lessor of Chemistry ; and in the year following, tlie Rev. Shep- herd K. Kollock, was in like manner the first Professor of Rhetoric and Logic. After that time the number and variety of studies were greatly iiu^reased, and it is believed that the present college curriculum is on as high a scale as any in the United States. The University has, in the main, been fortunate in its gov- ernors and instructors. During the first nine years of its ex- iBtence, it had no president, but M'as under the management of a professor as presiding oflicer ; that ofiicer, however, was, ^or the greater part of the time, the same distinguished gen. tleman who afterwards became its first president. Of his emi- nfeut merits in that respect ir is unnecessary for me to speak at this time and in this place. The beautiful monument erect- ed to his memory by tlie Alumni of this institution, and which now graces and adorns the college campus, fully attests his claim to distinction, not only as the head of the University, hut as a learned divine, and an early and efficient advocate of a system ot internal improvements and of common schools in the State. Ris presidency extended from his first appoint- ment in 1804, until his death in 1835, with the exception of an interval of four years, from 1812 to 181G, during which the unsuccessful administration of Dr. Robert H. ( /hapman occurred. Of the present incumbent, I shall say nothing, ex- cept that he has filled the office with distinguished success for nearly thirty years. In administering tlie affairs of (college. and in business of instruction, the presidents were aided by a succession of many learned and able professors. Of those who are now members of the faculty, it M'ill not be expected of me to speak ; and of those who have gone from us and are still living, I will merely refer you to Dr. William Hooper and John DeBerniere IIoo])er. to Bishop Green, of MissLssip- 12 pi, to Professor Iledrick, and to Drs. Deems, Wlieat and Sliipp. Among the dead there are several names Avliicli the friends of the IJniversitv ought not to permit to be forgotten. There wns Charles AY. Harris, to whose brief sojourn here we were iiulebted f<^)r Dr. Caldwell ; there was Archibald D. Mui-phy, who afterwards became one of the most distinguished jurists- and statesmen of Xortli Carolina ; the Ilev. "William Bingham, of whom Chief Justice Taylor said, that as a teacher of a scj!<*(>l he Avas well qualified to raise its reputation, "by the extent of his ac(iuirements. the purity of his life, and the judg- ment by which he accommodated the discipline and instruc- tions of the sciiool to the various talents and dispositions of tite youth." There was Dr. Ethan A. Andrews, so Avell kno^\•^^ for ids clrissical labors; and Dr. Olmsted, who, as Professor of Xatural Philosophy at Yale College, so greatly increased the reputation which he had established as Professor of Chem- istry here; there was ]S"icholas M. Ilcntz, a learned man, but not so Avidely known as his accomplished wife, Mrs. Caroline Lee Ilentz; there Avas AValker Anderson, Avho afterwards re- moved to Florida aiid became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that State; and linally there Avas Dr. El isha Mitchell, Avhose A aried, extensive and profound literary and scientific acquirements Avere lost to the Avorld a fcAv years ago by a tra- gical event Avliich sent :i ])ang of sorrow to every votary of science throughout the land. In referring to the instructors of the institution, the tutors >ltonld not be passed over Avithout a notice. Among the liv- ing and the dead, they have very able and distinguished rep- resentatiA'es. Among the living are ex-Governor Morehead» Hamilton C. Jones, Anderson Mitchell. Giles Mebane, Judg« Manly. ex-Secretary Jacob Thompson, and others Avhose names- nuiy yet SAvell the trump of fame. Among the dead, I Avould point you to James Martin, afterAvards a Judge of the Su- perioi- Court ; to Gavin Hogg, long one of the ablest hxAvyers of the State; to LeAvis Williams, avIio Avas a member of the 13 House of liepreseiitatives so long that he acquired the name of the father of tlie'IIottse; to William D. Moseh', for many years Speaker of the Senate in this State, and afterwards Gov- ernor of Florida ; to James II. Ote}', the able and learned Bishop of Tennessee ; to the Rev. Joseph II. Saunders, whose early death cut short a bright career of usefulness in his cliurch ; to Edward D. Simms, whose growing reputation as a professor in the University of Alabama was closed by death before he had attained the meridian of his years ; and to Abra- l»am F. Morehead, the youngest member of a distinguished family, who would doubtless have greatly increased the fame of that family, had he not died in the earliest dawn of man- hood. I name with peculiar sadness George P. Bryan, George B. Johnston, Iowa Royster and E. Graham Morrow, who have so recently been consigned to soldiers' graves. From this hasty and imperfect sketch of the origin and his- tory of the University, it appears clearly and strongly that the founders of our republic and their successors, have always had a deep sense of tlie importance of a collegiate education. The enquiry is n-aturally presented how far their hopes have l)cen realised from this institution ; in other words, with what measure of success has it been attended in promoting and ad- vancing the weal of the State ? A practical solution of thk enquiry may perhaps be obtained by ascertaining, if we can, what influence the men who received their education here have liad in the management and direction of the affairs of the General and State governments. It is unnecessary on this occasion, to go into minute details on this subject, but we can say in general, and say with certainty, that there is scarcel}' An oftice or place of profit or trust, or any position in the bu- siness of life, professional or non-professional, ecclesiastical or lay, military or civil, which has not been filled, time and again, by some one who has received his education, in whole or in part, at this University. To the General government it has ftirjiished one President, at least five members of the cabinet 14 and four ministers to foreign courts, while of the number which it has sent to the Senate and House of Representatives it is difficult to make a reckoning. In the State government there is hardly any office, which has not been filled by those who have gone forth from these lialls. It has its representatives in the highest places of the church, among the leaders at the bar, and in the chambers where suft'ering humanity most needs the aid of educated science and skill. It has supplied banks and railroads witli presidents, clerks and superintendents. It sends its Alumni to explore mines and to construct railroads; and above all, and best of all, it famishes to agriculture and com- merce some of their most enlightened, energetic and skillful votaries. The exciting times through which we have just passed and are now passing, have prevented me from bringing more par- ticularly to your attention the men whom our University has sent forth to act their parts in the world. It is only by the offices which they have filled, or the places which they have occupied, that I have recalled them to your recollection. Many of them have paid the great debt of nature, and gone to render to, their Maker an account of their stewardship. Others are still liv- ing to perform, it may be, higher duties to their country, and to obtain greater rewards for themselves. Of all these, dead or living, I have nothing farther to say. But with your in- dulgence, I will occupy a few more moments of your time in recalling from the dim recollections of the past the names of a few men, each of whom was regarded as the college genius of the day, and wdio, with w^ell directed energies and a longer life, might have left a name which the world would not will- ingly have let die, William Cherry was a native of Bertie county, and was graduated here in the year 1800, While in college he was not a very diligent student, but his aptitude for learning was so marvellous that, it was said, he could prepare his lesson af- ter the recitation bell had commenced ringing. Having se- 15 lected the law as his profession, he had already attained an extensive practice and a high rank at the bar, when his career was cut short by death, caused by intemperance, at the early age of twenty-seven. Those who were engaged in practice with him could not but wonder at the admirable manner in which he managed his causes, knowing as they did that the time which he ought to have spent in the preparation of them, was passed at the card taT)le and around the intoxicating bowl. A «tory is still remembered, that on one occasion, in the for- getfulness caused by a deep debauch, he opened an important cause by making a very able argument on the wrong side ; but being made aware of his mistake just as he was about to close, he, immediately, with admirable presence of mind, com- menced a reply for his own client, by saying that the argu- ment which he had just made was what he supposed would be urged by his opponent, and that he would proceed to an- swer it, and expose its fallacy. Tradition, however, reports that his first argument was so masterly that he could not an- swer it successfully, and thus lost his cause. About fifteen years after Mr. Cherry left the University a young man from the county of iN'asli was, with many othci-s, suspended from college in consecpience of what Avas long known «s the great rebellion of 1810, which resulted in the expulsion of the leaders, Messrs. George C. Drumgold and William B. Shepard, and the resignation of the President, Dr. Chapman. The expelled members both afterwards became distinguished men, but talented as they undoubtedly were, they were de cidedly inferior in genius to their classmate and friend, Thom- as jS^. Mann. lie became a lawyer, and at the time when he fell a victim to consumption, while under thirty years of age, he was one of the best read and most profound lawyers in the State. Though so young, he was appointed by the then Presi- dent of the United States as Qliarge d' Affaires to Central America, and died while on his way to the court of that country. IG In tlie yesir 1824, Thonuis Dewes, u young niaii iVoni the county of Lincoln, took liis deg-ree of Bacliel, on a certain occa^sion, at the same court with Messrs. -lames Tl, Dodge, llilhnan and Dews. Mr. JSwain had seen some- where a punning epitaph on a man named Dodge, which ended with the couplet that '• \i\cT dodging' all he could, lie couldn't dodge the devil." This he wrote on a piece of paj)er and handed it to the other memljers of the l)ar, whose merriment it very much ex- cited. After a while it reached the hand^ of >Ir. Dodge him- self, wlu), seeing from M'hom it came and supposijig that ilill- man and Dews w^w paHicipes criminis, immediately wrote on the back tlu^ following : '■ Here lie a Ilillinau and a Swain, Their lot let no man choose, Tliey lived in sin and died in pain, And the devil has Viis Dews."' Those wlio are familiar witli the playful and hap[)y tiirn\)f thought and expression Mhich distiiigiiish the lighter writings of Washington Irving will not l>e surprised to learn tliat Mr, Dodge is his nephew. IT The next and last college genius to wlioni I shall call your attention was the late General James Johnston Pettigrew. Born in the county of Tyrrell, he was prepared for college at the celebrated school of "William J. Bingham, a son of the Bev. William Bingham already mentioned, and entered the Freshman Class here in tjie year 1843. His whole college course Avas a continued series of literary triumphs. In a class containing many members of more than ordinary talents he was among the best, if not the very best, in all his studies ; but mathematics was his speciality. In that he was far ahead of all liis classmates. I well remember being present at the examination of the class on Astronomy, Avlien the learned- Professor, after having worried several members by putting questions which they could not answer, called up Mr. Petti- grew. As he did so one of the class, in a whisper loud enough to be heard half across the room, said, " You can't stick him," and sure enough he couldn't. After taking the Bachelor-s degree, and after a short term of service in the Naval Obser- vatory in Washington City, he selected the law as his profes- sion, and went to Europe to perfect himself in that depart- ment of it called the civil law. On his return he settled in Charleston and became connected in practice with his distin- guished relative, the late Hon. James L. Petigru, who was perhaps the ablest and most profound lawyer in South Caro- lina. During his brief residence there he became one of the Tepresentatives of the city in the Legislature of the State. "While a member of tliat body he greatly distinguished him- self by sending in from a committee a minority report against a scheme then proposed for taking steps towards the reopen- ing of the slave trade. He himself constituted tlie minority^ and his report was so profound in its views, and so convincing in its arguments, that the proposed measure failed to secure the sanction of the Legislature, though strongly urged in a report agreed upon by all the other members of the com- mittee. 18 AVlien the war broke out between the JSTorth and the South he espoused the cause of his section of the country. After eorae service at Charleston he came to this State, was elected Colonel of one of its regiments and was afterwards promoted to the rant of Major General. Of his merits as a soldier nnd an officer it is unnecessary for Inenow to speak. His un- timely death, in a slight skirmish near the banks of the Po- tomac during General Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania, caused his friends and his country to deplore an event which extin- guished the light of his genius long ere it had attained its me- ridian splendor. ^ly young friends, my task is done and no one can feel more sensibly than myself how imperfectly it has been accom- plished. Ko one can know more fully than myself how dif- ficult it has been to withdraw my thoughts from the unhappy condition of our country and apply them to tlie work of at- tempting to prepare an offering worthy of your acceptance. In the commencement of my address I had occasion to re- fer to the low condition to which the ■war had suddenly re- duced our beloved University. Its declension was as great as it was sudden. Before the war it had attained, in a very few 3'ears, a height of prosperity of which scarcely a parallel can be found in any country. In the extent and variety of its studies, the number and ability of its instructors and the num- ber of its students, it surpassed nearly all similar institutions in our own section of the country, and was beginning to rival tbe old, time-honored establishments of Yale and Harvard. In the year 1858 its catalogue showed a larger nmnber of un- der-p-raduates than that of any other college in the United States, except Yale. All this success was accohiplished in a very short time. A glance at the rapidly' increasing ratio of its graduates will illustrate the truth of my, remark. For the first ten years after the date in which degrees were conferred by the University, the number of students who received the Baccalaureate was 53 ; for the second decade it was 110 ; for 19 the third 259 ; for the fourth 146 ; for the fifth 308 ; for the sixth 448 ; and for the seventh the annual number was going on at a rate which would have produced 882, nearly the double- of that which immediately preceded it. Another striking manifestation of the grov/ing fame and the wide-spreading influence of the University was afforded by the honor of having had among the visitors at each of the commencements of 1847 and 1859 the then President of the United States and a part of his cabinet. On the first of these occasions one of her own sons came to greet his fair mother, and on the second a stranger from a distant State came to do her honor. But the scene is now changed. The war has ai*- rested our Alma Mater in her proud career of success, and she ss now reduced to a low, very low, condition ; but as peace has once more dawned upon the country, let us cherish the fond hope that she will soon emerge, with fresh strength and renovated energies, from the deep valley of humiliation, and again take her seat upon the high hill of prosperity, whence she may spread abroad all over the land the blessings of edu- cation and religion, with their attendant benefits of civilization and refinement. i ^