The collection documents several generations of the white Battle family of Louisburg, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, N.C., as well as enslaved people who were claimed in ownership by the Battles or were trafficked to them through hiring of their labor, skills, and knowledge. Early Battle family papers, especially letters of Lucy Martin Plummer Battle (1805-1874), concern many aspects of North Carolina history, including white family relationships with enslaved people and their forced labor, life on the Confederate homefront, and social conditions and race relations during Reconstruction. Letters of William Horn Battle (1802-1879) also describe a wide spectrum of people and events while he served on the North Carolina Supreme Court and traveled primarily to Raleigh and Morganton. There are also materials relating to the Episcopal Church, in which the Battles were active lay members; the Chatham County Railroad; and the University of North Carolina. Kemp Plummer Battle (1831-1919) materials include papers relating to his interest in the early history of North Carolina and of the University of North Carolina; his notes on the secret sessions of the North Carolina convention of 1861; clippings, notes, and drafts of his articles and speeches; a facsimile of his journal while he lived in Chapel Hill and worked as a tutor and studied for the Bar exam, 1851-1853; and correspondence of his family, including his wife Martha Ann Battle and their children. There are also many letters from Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), who was related to the Battle family through marriage. Papers of William James Battle (1870-1955), professor of classics and university administrator at Texas and Cincinnati, document family, family history, and personal affairs, but do not include many items relating to his professional career. Volumes are chiefly student notes and personal accounts kept by William James Battle, 1885-1909. There are also images of Battle family members and others
Microfilm contents: Reel 1. Series 1: 1765-1850. -- Reel 2. Series 1: 1851-1859. -- Reel 3. Series 1: 1860-Sept. 1865. -- Reel 4. Series 1: Oct. 1865-May 23, 1875. -- Reel 5. Series 1: May 25, 1871-1875
