Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/81

Rh behalf of his native state. Referring to William Folk's influence on the rising fortunes of the state of Tennessee, il has been said that as" the personal friend and associate of Andrew Jackson he greatly advanced the interests and enhanced the wealth of the hero of New Orleans by furnishing him information, taken from his field notes as a sur- veyor, that enabled Jackson to secure valuable tracts of land in the state of Tennessee; that to Samuel Polk, father of the president, he gave the agency for renting and selling portions of his (William's) estate ; and that, as first president of the Bank of North Carolina, he made Jacob John- son, the father of President Andrew Johnson, its first porter : so that of the three native North Caro- linians who entered the White House through the gate of Tennessee, all were indebted for benefac- tions and promotion to the same individual." At his death Col. Polk was the last surviving field- officer of the North Carolina line. William's son, Leonidas, P. E. bishop, b. in Raleigh, N. C., 10 April, 1806: d. on Pine mountain. Ga., 14 June, 1864, was educated at the University of North ( 'uro- lina, and at the U. S. military academy, where he was gradu- ated in 1827, and at once brevet- ted 3d lieuten- ant of artillery. Having, in the meantime, been induced by Rev. (afterward Bish- op) Charles P. Mollvaine, then chaplain at the academy, to study for the ministry, he re- signed his com- mission the fol- lowing Decem- ber, was made deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church in 1830, and ordained priest in 1831. He served in the Mnii- umental church, Richmond, Va., as assistant for a year, when, his health failing, he went to Europe to recuperate. Soon after^his return he removed to Tennessee, and became rector of St. Peter's church. Columbia, in 1833. In 1834 he was clerical deputy to the general convention of the Episcopal church, and in 1835 a member of the standing committee of the diocese. In 1838 he received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbia, and the same year he was elected and consecrated missionary bishop of Arkansas and the Indian territory south of 36 30'. with provisional charge of the dioceses of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and tin- missions in the republic of Texas. These charges he held until 1841. when he resigned all of them with the exception of the diocese of Louisiana, of which he remained bishop until his death, intend- ing to resume his duties after he had been released from service in the field. In 1856 he initiated the movement to establish the University of the South, and until 18liO was engaged with Bishop Stephen Elliott, and other southern bishops, in perfecting plans that resulted in the opening of that institu- tion at Sewanee, Tenn. At the beginning of the civil war he was a strong sympathizer with the doctrine of secession. His birth, education, and associations were alike southern, and his property, which was very considerable in land and slaves, aided to identify him with the project of establish- ing a southern confederacy. His familiarity with the valley of the Mississippi prompted him to urge upon Jefferson Davis and the Confederate authori- ties the importance of fortifying and holding its strategical points, and amid the excitement of the time the influence of his old military training be- came uppermost in his mind. Under these cir- cumstances the offer of a major-generalship by Davis was regarded not unfavorably. He applied for advice to Bishop William Meade, of Virginia, who replied that, his being an exceptional case, he could not advise against its acceptance. His first command extended from the mouth of Red river, on both sides of the Mississippi, to Paducah on the Ohio, his headquarters being at Memphis. Under his general direction the extensive works at New Madrid and Fort Pillow, Columbus, Ky., Island No. 10, Memphis, and other points, were const nn -ted. On 4 Sept., Gen. Polk transferred his headquarters to Columbus, where the Confederates had massed a large force of infantry, six field batteries, a siege- 1 lattery, three battalions of cavalry, and three steamboats. Opposite this place, at Belmont, Mo.. on 7 Nov., 1861. the battle of Belmont was fought. Gen. Polk being in command of the Confederate and Gen. Grant of the National troops. The Con- federates claimed a victory. Gen. Polk remained at Columbus until March, 1862. when he was or- dered to join Johnston's and Beauregard's army at Corinth, Miss. As commander of the 1st corp-. he took part in the battle of Shiloh. Tenn., and in the subsequent operations that ended with the evacuation of Corinth. In September and October he commanded the Army of Mississippi, and fought at the battle of Perryville, during the Confederate invasion of Kentucky. In the latter part of October and November he was in command of the armies of Kentucky and Mississippi and conducted the Confederate retreat from the former state. In October he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and commanded the right wing of the Army of Tennessee at the battle of Stone river. In the Chickamauga campaign, he also led the right wing. According to the official report of Gen. Braxton Bragg, it was only through Folk's disobedience of orders at Chickamauga that the National army was saved from annihilation. He was accordingly relieved from his command, and ordered to Atlanta. Subsequently Jefferson Davis, with Gen. Bragg's approval, offered to reinstate him, but he declined. He was then appointed to take charge of the camp of Confederate prisoners that had been paroled at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. In December. 1863, he was assigned to the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, in place of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who was assigned to the Army of Tennessee. By skilful dispositions of his troops he prevented the junction of the National cavalry column under Gen. William Sony Smith with Gen. Sherman's army in southern Mississippi. Hen. Folk's prestige being restored, he was ordered to unite his command (the Army of Mississippi) with the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who opposed the march of Sherman to Atlanta. After taking part in the principal engagements that occurred previous to the middle of June, he was killed by a cannon-shot while reconnoitring on Pine mountain, near Marietta, Ga. His biography was written and published in 1893 by his son, Dr. William M. Polk, of New York. Leonidas's son, William Mecklenburg, physician, b. in Ashwood, Maury co., Tenn., 15 Aug., 1844, was graduated at Virginia military institute, Lexington, Va., 4 July, 1864, and at the New York