Background
He was born on July 24, 1838, on the Nansemond River in Virginia. His father moved from North Carolina to Mississippi and later to Arkansas, where he settled in Lafayette County and became county judge.
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Burrell Bunn Battle
Edit ProfileEducation
Battle received the A. B. degree at Arkansas College, Fayetteville, in 1856 and the LL. B. at Cumberland University in 1858.
Career
He entered upon the practise of law at Lewisville. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in the artillery and served until the end of the war. When peace was declared he took up law again at Lewisville, but in 1869 moved to Washington, Ark. He represented Hempstead County in the legislature of 1871 and was one of the leaders in the opposition to Gov. Powell Clayton and his successor, O. A. Hadley. When the House voted to impeach Clayton, Battle was appointed a member of the House managers, but the Senate was favorable to the Governor and they could do nothing.
In 1879 he moved to Little Rock and there continued the practise of law until his election to the supreme court in 1885. His service on the bench was continuous until 1911, when he declined to stand for reelection, largely on account of increasing deafness brought about by an injury received in the war. His length of service on the supreme bench, twenty-five years, was the longest in the history of the state up to that time. Battle was considered a remarkable jurist.
His associates recognized that a bench made up entirely of men of his type would have been wanting in the progressive spirit which is essential to accommodate the law to the changing conditions of society, but considered the presence of one man of his type "a sheet anchor of safety". During his tenure the laws affecting railroads, carriers, master and servant, and other subjects developed, and "in many instances his opinion constitutes the leading case". After retirement he continued to reside in Little Rock until his death.
Achievements
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Judge W. E. Hemingway said: "His temper was essentially judicial. He deferred a decision until everything that should influence it had been heard. He recognized the established law as "the absolute master of his judicial work" and had no patience with bench-made law. This means that he was conservative. His associates recognized that a bench made up entirely of men of his type would have been wanting in the progressive spirit which is essential to accommodate the law to the changing conditions of society, but considered the presence of one man of his type "a sheet anchor of safety".
Connections
In 1871 he married Mrs. Josephine A. Witherspoon (née Cannon), who died in 1899 without issue.
