Dr. Charles T. Battle, Jr.

About Dr. Charles T. Battle, Jr.

Dr. Charles Tecumseh Battle, Jr., a native of Mobile, Alabama, was the eldest of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Battle, Sr.'s five children. He received a B.S. degree from Alabama State University where he was a charter member of the Beta Upsilon Chapter. He was an educator for several years in the Mobile Public School System until 1950 when he pursued his Doctor of Medicine degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Battle and his family moved to Seneca, South Carolina in July 1954, where he began and continued his practice in medicine until his retirement in 1992. He became a member of St. James United Methodist Church - which later merged with John Wesley and Trinity United Methodist Church to form New Harmony United Methodist Church - where he held several church offices. He was very active in his local community and became recognized on a statewide level for his dedicated service to South Carolina citizens.

Dr. Battle joined the staff of Oconee Memorial Hospital in 1956 and was named staff emeritus in January 1997. He was designated a Palmetto Gentleman by Governor David Beasley who bestowed upon him the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor accorded a private citizen of South Carolina.

He actively served as a member of numerous professional and service organizations, including:

  • Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

  • Council of Aging for Oconee and Anderson Counties

  • Life Member of the NAACP

  • Rotary International

  • Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Mental Health Association

  • Disciplinary Commission of the SC Board of Medical Examiners

  • Vice-Chair of the SC Mental Health Commission

  • Palmetto Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association

  • SC Medical Association

  • National Medical Association

  • American Medical Association

  • Chief-of-Staff, Oconee Memorial Hospital (1988)

  • United Methodist Men

Dr. Battle died in 1998 at the age of 79, but his memory and dedication to the community lives on through the annual scholarship established in his name by Rho Delta Lambda.