Henry Clay Pate

Pate was born in Bedford County, Virginia, on April 21, 1833 to Edmund Pate (a veteran of the War of 1812) and his wife Sarah. He began his studies at the University of Virginia in 1848, but left two years later without completing a degree. After leaving the university, he lived for a time in Cincinnati, where he worked as a writer, before moving to Kansas. == Bleeding Kansas ==

Kansas in the 1850s was wracked by violent confrontations between pro-slavery and abolitionist factions. Pate was firmly in the former camp. He published the Westport Border Star, a pro-slavery newspaper, and became Justice of the Peace of Kaw Township, Jackson County, Missouri, in 1855. Pate was part of the sacking of Lawrence and, either during or shortly before, was commissioned as a Deputy United States Marshal. On hearing news of John Brown's actions at the Pottawatomie Massacre, Pate set out with a band of thirty men to hunt Brown down. Despite their numerical inferiority, the Free State men prevailed, with several of Pate's men fleeing the battle and the rest captured. Pate's entanglement with John Brown did not end with his release at Black Jack. Brown took Pate's Bowie knife as a trophy, using it as a prop in his speeches and later providing it as a model for the heads of the pikes that were to be distributed to freed slaves after the raid on Harpers Ferry. ==Visit to Brown in Charles Town jail==

After Brown's capture, Pate came from his home in Petersburg, Virginia, to Charles Town to see him.{{cite news Brown was hanged on December 2. On December 7, Pate gave a lecture on Brown at Cooper Union.{{cite news == Civil War service and death ==

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Pate (then residing in Petersburg, Virginia) raised and equipped a mounted company. This unit, known variously as Pate's Rangers, the Letcher Mounted Guards or the Petersburg Rangers, was equipped with small arms from the Gosport Navy Yard that had been thrown into the river by departing federal troops. Pate also designed a revolving cannon with which to equip his unit. His company was attached to Wise's Legion and sent to western Virginia. Pate later served under Thomas L. Rosser when the latter was placed in charge of the 5th Virginia Cavalry. Rosser viewed Pate as uncooperative and insubordinate and had him court-martialed, but Pate was exonerated. Pate died at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, 1864. He had been charged by General J. E. B. Stuart to hold his position until reinforcements arrived. During the second wave of the battle, Pate held his position as ordered, before being killed by a bullet to the temple. == References ==