Laurence Simmons Baker

Background

Laurence Baker was born on May 15, 1830, in Gates County, North Carolina, United States. He was the last of five children of Dr. John Burges and Mary Wynns Gregory Baker.

Education

Laurence attended Norfolk Academy and graduated last in his class at the United States Military Academy in 1851.

Career

Laurence Baker entered the service as a second lieutenant of cavalry, served on the frontier, and by 1860, had been promoted to captain.

When the war began, he resigned his commission. He entered the Confederate Army in May 1861 as a lieutenant colonel in command of the 9th North Carolina Cavalry, served under General J.E.B. Stuart, and was promoted to colonel in March 1862. During the Seven Days’ battles, he commanded the Confederate cavalry at Charles City Road on June 29, and he served under General Wade Hampton at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Frederick City, Maryland, in defense of the southern mountain passes.

Baker also fought at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and distinguished himself at the Battle of Upperville. He was promoted to brigadier general for his bravery at the Battle of Brandy Station, where he was seriously wounded in June 1863. Hampton wanted to appoint him as his division commander at Gettysburg, but since Baker's health was poor, Baker protected the Confederate Army's retreat at Hagerstown and Falling Waters.

He was assigned to the War Department of the Second Military District of South Carolina in 1864, where he had the duties of a major general. He protected the Weldon Railroad and confronted Sherman at Savannah and Augusta in late 1864. He was given department command in North Carolina and took part in the battle of Bentonville in the spring of 1865.

Baker surrendered after Richmond fell, and he was paroled in May 1865. After the war, he sold life insurance and farmed for a while in New Bern, North Carolina, until 1877, when he became an agent of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in Suffolk, Virginia. He was also in the trucking business in Norfolk before his death.

Achievements

• Laurence Baker went down in history as a participant of the Battle of Brandy Station. For his military actions during the American Civil War, he was promoted to Brigadier General on July 23, 1863.

Religion

Laurence was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

Politics

Laurence opposed secession.

Connections

Baker married Elizabeth Earl Henderson on March 13, 1855. The couple had nine children.

Father:

John Burges Baker

Mother:

Mary Wynns Gregory Baker

Brother:

William James Baker

1815-1882

Sister:

Anna Mary Baker Neal

1818-1914

Brother:

Richard Beverly Baker

1821-1906

Sister:

Susan J. Baker Myrick

1826-1917

Wife:

Elizabeth Earl Henderson Baker

1836-1919

Son:

William Tilford Baker

1856-1889

Son:

Alexander H. Baker

1857-1928

Son:

Laurence Simmons Baker

1859-1861

Daughter:

Elizabeth Earl Baker Hubbell

1863-1944

Son:

Richard Beverly Baker

1866-1880

Son:

Stuart Sigourney Baker

1870-1956

Son:

Charles Johnson Baker

1875-1876

Son:

Philip Barraud Baker

1881-1883

Daughter:

Louise W. Baker

1889-1956

colleague:

James Stuart

colleague:

Wade Hampton

References

• Civil War High Commands
  2002
• Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders
  2006