Mr. Hughes,

I think the answer to your question may be found in your own back yard. I believe that the John Batte(called Butte by Lee Wallace)of the 39th Va. Militia was probably a distant cousin of the man you are researching.

John Gartner Batte was born on April 22, 1836 in Giles County, Tennessee to Gustavus Adolphus Batte and Elizabeth Daly Batte, natives of Virginia. Batte married Nancy A. Edwards in 1856 in Falls County, Texas.

Batte is enumerated on the 1860 Census of Milam County, Texas. He was a farmer with real estate valued at $2,500 & personal estate valued at $7,450...quite a sum for the day.

He is listed on the 1870 census of Bell County, Texas as a "retail merchant". In 1880, Batte is listed in Bell County as an "editor".

According to: http://www.rootsweb.com/~txbell/nannie20.htm

January 1, 1874, after having been elected to a place in the State Senate, Major Davenport sold The Belton Journal to the late Capt. J. G. BATTE, that he might better attend to the affairs of his new office and the interest of the people who had elected him. This, it is said, he did faithfully and well, looking carefully to the best welfare of the whole state, and throwing the same hearty, earnest endeavor into his broader field of work that he had put into his work for the people of this section while editor of The Belton Journal. After the purchasing of The Belton Journal by Capt. BATTE, J. T. Longino remained for a few weeks at the head of the mechanical department. Tom BATTE, son of the editor, and now known as Dr. L. T. BATTE, of this city...April 1, 1883, W. S. Hunter and George C. Robinson purchased The Journal from Capt. BATTE and continued its publication under the firm name of Hunter & Robinson.

Why was Batte called "Captain"?

Perhaps someone at the Belton Journal can help. This newspaper has been in existence since 1866. See: http://www.beltonjournal.com/