Richard Henry Battle was born in Louisburg (Franklin County), North Carolina, on December 3, 1835. Battle was an attorney, public servant, and Confederate veteran who served as a trustee for the University of North Carolina (1879-1912), as alderman for the city of Raleigh (1880), and as a legislator (1880 session). He died in Raleigh (Wake County) on May 19, 1912.