Clinton Wesley Battle
Clinton Wesley Battle (September 27, 1849 – May 15, 1927) was an American politician in North Carolina during and after the Reconstruction era. He represented Edgecombe County in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1879[1] and 1881.
Early life
Clinton Wesley Battle was born on September 27, 1849, in Edgecombe County, North Carolina.[2] He was enslaved at birth.[3] He was educated at Shaw University in Raleigh. He married Siddie Ann Bryant on April 6, 1876, and had a child with her.[2]
Career
From 1874 to 1876 Battle served as a trustee of Swift Creek Township in Edgecombe and then served two years as a county commissioner before being elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives as a Republican in 1878.[4] He was re-elected in 1880.[5]
Battle later served as a postmaster in Battleboro in Nash County from November 11, 1897,[6] until February 1, 1900.[7] He was arrested on March 8 and accused of embezzling $400 in money order funds and failing to deposit funds for the post office.[8] He was convicted and sentenced to serve nine months in prison.[9]
Later life
Battle died at his home in Washington D.C. on May 15, 1927.[10]
See also
- African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900
- List of first African-American U.S. state legislators
References
- ^ Carolina, North (December 9, 1879). "Laws and Resolutions of the State of North Carolina" – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Tomlinson 1879, p. 75.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). rockymountnc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Tomlinson 1879, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Justesen 2012, p. 73.
- ^ Justesen 2005, p. 219.
- ^ "Local Briefs". The Tarboro Southerner. Vol. 78, no. 10. March 8, 1900. p. 3.
- ^ "State News". The Newton Enterprise. Vol. XXII, no. 6. March 9, 1900. p. 2.
- ^ Justesen 2005, p. 222.
- ^ "Clinton W. Battle Dies in Washington". The News & Observer. May 18, 1927. p. 5.
Works cited
- Justesen, Benjamin R. (2005). "Black Tip, White Iceberg: Black Postmasters and the Rise of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1897–1901". The North Carolina Historical Review. 82 (2): 193–227. JSTOR 23523507.
- Justesen, Benjamin R. (2012). George Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life (reprint ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 9780807144770.
- Tomlinson, J. S. (1879). Tar Heel sketch-book. A brief biographical sketch of the life and public acts of the members of the General Assembly of North Carolina. Session of 1879. Raleigh, North Carolina: Raleigh News Steam Book and Job Office – via Internet Archive.