GREER, S.C. — Zebulon Baird Vance was one of North Carolina’s favorite sons. 

Born in 1830 in the mountains not far from Asheville, N.C., this raw-boned, rough-and-tumble, hill-born boy early on discovered he had a knack for the books. 

This led him to the University of North Carolina, where he studied law, after which he opened a legal practice in Asheville. 

He soon found politics to be more to his liking, and he seemed to have a talent for it. In fact, he won his very first political race in 1854, a seat in the North Carolina Senate.  

These were stormy days in the South and there was a rising tide of secession talk permeating the state. 

Vance opposed secession and distanced himself from the pro-secession Southern Democratic Party as well as the anti-slavery Republican Party. 

You could say he was a politician without a home, and it cost him the 1856 Senate election. 

The turning point came in December 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the Union. 

Not many months after that the South Carolinians fired on Fort Sumter... and newly elected President Abraham Lincoln called for an army of 75,000 volunteers to quell the rebellion. 

At that point, Zeb Vance threw his support to the newly created Confederacy and raised a company of Asheville volunteers he called the Rough and Ready Guards. 

After a brief stint on the battlefield, Vance decided to run for governor of North Carolina, and he won the election in 1862. He would later serve as a congressman, representing the Old North State. 

But the role he would best be remembered for would be as the wartime governor of North Carolina. And he served effectively for two terms.

Zeb Vance was the consummate politician and stories of his legendary campaigns still circulate throughout the state, and especially up in his beloved mountains. 

One of my favorite Vance tales involves bean seeds. The story goes before he started on the campaign trail, he would wrap a few bean seeds in a rag and tie it up. 

The first home he would visit he would tell the lady of the house, “My wife wanted me to be sure to give you a few of her prized beans. These are her favorites, and she was wondering if you might have a few to share with her.” 

The flattered housewife would quickly wrap some of her cherished seeds and happily give them to the governor. 

He would thank her profusely and take the beans and repeat the process at the next house he visited, claiming they were a special gift from his wife. 

Vance was also well-known for the speeches he delivered on the floor of Congress. They were often laced with typical mountain humor.