Lenoir Rhyne College - Hacawa Yearbook (Hickory, NC)

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Dl DQ CAPT. WALTEK WAICIITSTII.I. F.KXOIK DI ill

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Dl Bebtcatton We dedicate this Volume o HACAWA to the memory o Capt. Walter Waightstill Lenoir as a slight token of remembrance for his kindness and deep interest shown to the town, community, and Church, by giving the ground on which this school is built, and {or his lifelong interest in educational advancement Dl nn

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jWemotr W Q V ALTER WAIGHTSTILL LENOIR died at his home, at Stonewall, jb J Watauga County, N. C, on the evening of July 26, 1890. He was S r horn at Fort Defiance, Caldwell County, X. C, March 13, 1823. He was the son of Thomas and Selina Louisa Lenoir, and the grandson of Gen. William Lenoir, of Revolutionary memory, and of Col. Waightstill Avery, a true patriot, and one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde- pendence. In 1843, he graduated with high honors at the University of North Caro- lina. There were but two others of a large class that took first distinction ; and, it being necessary to draw for the Valedictory, the prize fell to him. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1845, and came easily to the front rank of his profession. He was especially regarded by his legal brethren as one of the best judges of law in North Carolina. On the tenth day of June, 1856, he was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia I. Christian, of Staunton, Va. — a union so congenial that perfect hap- piness was vouchsafed to them until the death of their lovely child, Anna Tate Lenoir. The mother soon followed, leaving wound-prints in his heart that were never healed; but being of noble mold he was soon convinced that usefulness lay not in a selfish indulgence of sorrow, but in the path of duty. That path was soon made plain to him. The Civil War came, and he quickly decided how he could best serve his country. He declared his firm belief in the justice and sacredness of her cause, and said that he was ready cheerfully to sacrifice in its defence, whatever it might need of his means, his strength, his time, and his capacity of endurance. In December, 1861, he entered the Confederate Army as a private. In January, 1862, he was promoted to the captaincy of Company A, Thirty-seventh North Carolina Regiment, Branch ' s Brigade. It was with serious misgivings that he accepted the office ; but he proved himself a wise and efficient leader, gladly sharing the hardships of his men, and endearing himself to them by many acts of unselfish kindness. Their love for him amounted to devo- tion. Lie was wounded at the battle of Ox Hill, September 1, 1862. His brave Company, of which one-third only was left after the second battle of Manassas Plains, was exposed to a terrific fire, and all but three were either killed; or wounded. His account of himself in this hotly contested action is most charac- teristic. He says in his diary, In the twilight, toward the close of the battle, I pi t£ Six