William Walter Leake American Civil War Confederate Army officer, Freemason, lawyer, county judge, and bank president. Date of Birth: 22.04.1833 Country: USA

Biography of William Walter Leake

William Walter Leake was born on April 22, 1833, in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute and the Louisiana College Centenary before studying law and becoming a member of the bar in 1857. Leake practiced law in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

During the American Civil War, Leake volunteered as a captain in April 1861 and was later appointed captain of the 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment under Colonel John Simms Scott. The regiment participated in various battles, including the major Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, where Scott's men were part of General Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry. However, after a poorly executed river crossing and other unfavorable incidents, the officers of the regiment questioned Scott's leadership qualities, accusing him of incompetence and endangering his subordinates. In May 1862, nine company commanders resigned and went to the headquarters of Confederate Army General P.G.T. Beauregard to report their resignation. However, Beauregard ordered their arrest for "abandoning their men in the face of the enemy." Eventually, all of them were ordered to return to the 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment.

In October 1862, Leake resigned again and returned home to St. Francisville. He was commissioned as a captain in the 3rd Battalion of the Louisiana Cavalry Regiment. Later, he served in another cavalry regiment that was part of Brigadier General Cochrane's brigade in the Army of Tennessee until the end of the war.

After the war, Leake resumed his legal practice in St. Francisville. He served in the Louisiana State Senate from 1880 to 1882 and was a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1882. From 1896 to 1904, Leake served as a district judge. From 1906 until his death in 1912, he served as the president of the People's Bank in St. Francisville.

In June 1863, while Leake was on furlough at his home, Union Navy Commander John E. Hart, a Freemason, died on board his ship, the "Albatross," near St. Francisville. Hart had committed suicide in his cabin with his revolver, but it was officially recorded that he was "killed in action." The assistant commander went ashore and inquired if there were any Masons in the area who could conduct a Masonic burial. Leake, being the senior-ranking Mason in the St. Francisville Lodge, was directed to assist. He arranged for Hart to be buried in the Episcopal Church. A truce was established, and on June 12, 1863, Reverend Daniel S. Lewis conducted an Episcopal service in the presence of Union and Confederate officers and all the Masons. In memory of this unusual burial, a three-day festival called "Cease Fire Day" was established.

William Walter Leake passed away on January 20, 1912, and he was buried next to Hart. In 1955, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana installed a shared marble plaque in their honor, dedicated to the universality of Freemasonry.

Leake was married to Margaret Mamford on December 10, 1857, and they had eleven children.