Noble Leslie DeVotie was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., January 24, 1838. He spent his early life in Marion, Ala. He entered the University of Alabama in October, 1853, in the sophomore class, having spent more than two years at Howard College. All through his university course he brilliantly maintained his intellectual supremacy. His grade point average for his entire course at Alabama was 96.75 %. He was graduated valedictorian at the head of his class July 17, 1856. In the fall of 1856, he entered Princeton Theological School, from which he graduated in 1859. Then he became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Selma, Ala. In 1861 he enlisted as chaplain in the C.S.A. when the Independent Blues and the Governor's Guard of Selma were sent to Fort Morgan. On February 12, 1861, as he was about to board a steamer at Fort Morgan, Ala. he made a misstep and fell into the water. Three days latter his body was washed ashore. He was the first man to lose his life in the Civil War.

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