Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Baker, Gen. Laurence S., 1907 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ GENERAL LAURENCE SIMMONS BAKER SUFFOLK GENERAL LAWRENCE [sic; LAURENCE] S. BAKER DEAD After months' of helpfulness [sic] and suffering, General Lawrence Simms [sic; Simmons] Baker, one of the few remaining officers of the Confederate Army, passed away this morning at two o'clock, age 76 years and 11 months. General Baker graduated from West Point in 1851, and served in the United States Army until the secession of the Southern States, when he cast his fortune with his native State, North Carolina, and fought gallantly through the four years of the War at the Confederacy, receiving severe wounds, which left him crippled for life. He married in 1855, Miss Elizabeth Earl Henderson, by whom he is survived. Their golden wedding was celebrated about a year ago. General Baker, for years, acted as agent at the Seaboard depot, in Suffolk, and by his brave efforts earned his livelihood in spite of grave physical disabilities, and won the admiration of all who knew him. He leaves a widow; two sons, A.H. Baker, sheriff of the county; Stuart Baker, of Richmond. Va.; one daughter, Miss Elizabeth Earl Baker; two sisters, Mrs. A.M. Neal, of Washington, N.C., and Mrs. S.J. Myrick, of Murfreesboro, N.C. The funeral services will be conducted from St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Friday afternoon, at 3 o'clock. The remains will be escorted by the military company and the Tom Smith Camp of Confederate Veterans, and will be laid away with all military honors. ****************************************************************************** GENERAL BAKER DIED YESTERDAY Was Hero Of Nearly 100 Battles - Served In Army In Many States. Suffolk, Va., April 10 - Gen. Lawrence [sic; Laurence] Simmons Baker, the hero of approximately 100 battles, lies dead at his home on Main Street, near Market. The end came shortly before 2 o'clock this morning. The general had been in a feeble condition for two years and since January 28 had been almost helpless from the result of a paralytic stroke. Despite the prolonged duration of his illness, General Baker preserved his lifelike looks and when seen tonight appeared as peaceful as when in life. General Baker had done active army service in every State and Territory in the Union. From the time of his graduation at West Point in 1852 [sic; 1851] until the outbreak of the Civil War, General Baker was a first lieutenant in the United States army. During his connection with the National army General Baker, then a lieutenant, was an officer of the Mounted Rifles. When his commission was surrendered in the Union army General Baker entered the southern forces from North Carolina. He was made a general at the Battle of Brandy Station. He is sad to have been the only Southern officer who was promoted to a general's command on the field of battle. General Baker's right arm was mutilated in the Brandy Station fight [sic*] and for his valiant conduct on this field was made a general. Mrs. Baker accompanied him everywhere except in the District of Columbia. The funeral will take place at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon from St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. The services will be conducted by Rev. Joseph B. Dunn, rector of the church. The Tom Smith Camp of Confederate Veterans will take part in the obsequies, but the full list of pallbearers had not been selected. General Baker would have been 77 years old in May. Most of the General's service was done in the Indian fights in the West. General Baker was married in 1855 to Miss Elizabeth E. Henderson in Salisbury, N.C. There survived him one daughter, Miss Elizabeth Baker, who was born in Raleigh, N.C. and two sons, Sheriff Alexander Henderson Baker, of Suffolk and Stuart, a Seaboard Air Line conductor, who lives in Norfolk. General Baker served as Suffolk agent of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad for twenty-seven years. He retired when his health became impaired. For a man who had been so badly wounded in battle General Baker was one of the most active men in this section. As Miss Lizzie Baker said at her mother’s home in Main Street tonight, she was proud of her father in life or death. Though she did not say so, the General was a scholar, a soldier and a gentleman, and the sympathy of the community goes out to the family. Brig. Gen. Laurence Simmons BAKER, 1st NC Cav., CSA, Seaboard ticket agent, b. 15 May 1830, "Cole's Hill," Gatesville, Gates Co., NC, d. 10 Apr 1907, at home, Suffolk, interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery*, Suffolk, 12 Apr 1907, "Norfolk (VA) Landmark," Vol. 64, No. 34, Thurs., Apr. 11, 1907, p. 9; "Norfolk (VA) Journal of Commerce and Twice-a-Week Virginian-Pilot," Vol. 5, No. 23, Fri., Apr. 12, 1907, p. 3 *Additional information: Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_a.txt A photo of Gen. BAKER - added by Crystal Lane - and two of his gravestones - added by Scott Musselman & RPD2 - are posted with Find a Grave Memorial #10830. While he was indeed wounded at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, he continued to lead the 1st NC Cavalry until he assumed command of Hampton's Brigade during the Gettysburg campaign. He was promoted to Brigadier General July 23, 1863, and permanently disabled by another wound July 31, 1863. A biographical sketch is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/military/civilwar/cw_vets.txt There is some confusion as to where he is buried. That sketch & Find a Grave give Block V, Lot 11. The SCHS Cedar Hill list gives Block C, Lot 11, and his sons in Block U, Lot 11. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/b260l1ob.txt