He was promoted to brigadier general on July 23, 1863, in recognition for his valiant service covering the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Eight days later, he was severely wounded in the right arm while resisting a Federal crossing of the Rappahannock River, and was incapacitated for nearly a year.

[3] After recovering enough for administrative duty, Baker was named commander of the Second Military District in his home state of North Carolina, overseeing the defense of vital railroads and supply lines.

Despite his still painfully shattered arm, Baker returned to the field during the Carolinas Campaign, including the Battle of Bentonville.

He and most of his men did not surrender at the end of the war, preferring to try to cut his way through Union lines to join Joseph E. Johnston's army.

He was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Suffolk, Virginia, and was active in the local camp of the United Confederate Veterans.

Due to a clerical error in the War Department, in some official military documents, his first name is frequently misspelled as "Lawrence".