GENERAL WILLIAM B. BATE

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  Confederate Major General William B. Bate was born in Castalian Springs, Sumner County Tennessee on October 7, 1826. He left home at the age of 15 and would fight in the Mexican War. Bate joined the Confederate Army and fought in numerous battles and skirmishes. He suffered two serious wounds during the war.. His first major battle was 1st Bull Run. At Shiloh he had a horse shot out from under him and he was shot in the leg. When the surgeon told him that his leg would have to be amputated he pulled his pistol and threatened to kill him. Bate kept his leg but he would have a limp for the rest of his life. He fought at Hoovers Gap and Chickamauga where he had three horses shot out from under him. Bate also fought at Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and the main battle of Atlanta. He was shot in the knee near Atlanta. After his recovery he fought at the Battle of Franklin where he lost 20% of his Division and had another horse shot out from under him. Bate commanded a Corps at the Battle of Nashville two weeks later. His last major battle was at Bentonville North Carolina. Bate and the Army of Tennessee surrendered to Sherman on April 26, 1865 at Durham North Carolina. After the war he practiced law in Nashville. He would eventually be elected Governor of Tennessee and would serve from 1883 until 1887. Bate would be a United States Senator from 1887 until his death on March 9, 1905. He is buried in Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

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