Bryan Grimes
Encyclopedia
Bryan Grimes was a North Carolina
plantation
owner and a general officer in the Confederate Army
during the American Civil War
. He fought in nearly all of the major battles of the Eastern Theater
of that war.
Grimes was the last man in the Army of Northern Virginia
to be appointed by Robert E. Lee
as a major general. He also led the final attack of that army shortly before its surrender to Union forces
at Appomattox Court House
on the morning of April 9, 1865.
. His father, Bryan Grimes, Sr., was a prosperous planter. His mother, Nancy Grist, was the daughter of a prominent general from Georgia, who died when Grimes was only four years old, and his older sister for a time raised him. He attended school in Nash County
and an academy in Little Washington
before attending a noted private school in Hillsborough
. Grimes, at the age of fifteen, enrolled in the University of North Carolina
. He graduated four years later in 1848.
In 1849, his father gave him the Grimesland estate, along with control over its 100 slaves
. On April 9, 1851, he married Elizabeth Hilliard Davis, but she would die only six years later. The couple had four children, one of whom, Bryan Grimes III, died in childhood. A grief-stricken Grimes later traveled to Europe
.
, he was elected as a delegate to North Carolina's secession
convention. He resigned from the commission after the passage of the Ordinance of Secession
and joined the Confederate Army as the major
of the newly formed 4th North Carolina Infantry
on May 16, 1861. He saw his first combat action at the First Battle of Bull Run
in Virginia
on July 21. Grimes was promoted to lieutenant colonel
on May 1, 1862, and fought at the Battle of Seven Pines
, during which he was wounded when his injured horse fell on top of him on May 31. a\
On June 19, 1862, Grimes was promoted to the rank of colonel
and given command of the 4th North Carolina Infantry
, now part of the Army of Northern Virginia. Grimes led the regiment during the Peninsula Campaign
, but missed the Maryland Campaign
and the Battle of Antietam
due to a severe leg injury incurred when his horse kicked him on September 5 near Edward's Ferry in Maryland
. Upon recovery Grimes returned to field duty in temporary command of an infantry brigade
within the division
of Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill
. He fought with the rest of Stonewall Jackson
's Second Corps
at the Battle of Fredericksburg
that December, where his men repelled a Union attack.
Grimes returned to his regimental command before the 1863 Chancellorsville Campaign
, where he was wounded again, this time in a foot, on May 3. During the first day's fighting at Gettysburg
, Grimes' regiment was the first organized Confederate unit to enter the streets of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
. He was in charge of the rear guard during a part of the army's retreat into Virginia following the three-day battle. On September 15, 1863, he married Charlotte Emily Bryan, and they eventually had ten children together, including John Bryan Grimes
, who would become North Carolina's secretary of state. Again, another son named Bryan Grimes died in childhood.
During the 1864 Overland Campaign
, Grimes was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on May 19, and given permanent command of his brigade of North Carolinians. That autumn, he fought in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign
as part of the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early. When Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur was killed at Cedar Creek
, Grimes assumed command of his division on December 9 and led it for the rest of the war. On October 19 while at Cedar Creek he was wounded in a leg.
On February 15, 1865, Grimes was promoted to major general, the last man appointed to that rank in the Army of Northern Virginia. He served in the trenches surrounding Petersburg
and joined Robert E. Lee's retreat to the west that ended when the way was blocked by Federal columns near Appomattox Court House. Grimes led an attack that temporarily cleared Federals from the Lynchburg Road, briefly opening up a possible route of escape for a portion of Lee's army. However, Lee chose to surrender instead of risking useless further bloodshed.
Following the Appomattox Campaign
, Grimes surrendered along with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, and was paroled at Appomattox Court House. He was pardonned by the U.S. government on June 26, 1866.
. He subsequently moved back to Grimesland in January 1867 and resumed farming. Ten years later, he was named as a trustee
of the University of North Carolina.
In 1880, Grimes was ambushed and killed in Pitt County, North Carolina, by a hired assassin named William Parker, presumably to prevent him from testifying at a criminal trial. Grimes had taken part in an attempt to deport immigrants, and was killed by their hitman. Parker was later acquitted at his trial. However, a number of years later Parker returned to the area drunk and boasted of his killing Grimes but winning acquittal. He was arrested for drunk and disorderly. That night a mob entered the deserted jail house, grabbed Parker and lynched
him. Nobody was ever tried for the act. Grimes was buried in the family cemetery on his plantation, Grimesland, about five miles northwest of Chocowinity, North Carolina
. A monument (a cenotaph
) to the fallen former Confederate stands in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery located in the village of Chocowinity.
Portions of the letters written home by Grimes throughout the Civil War were published after his death in 1883, entitled Extracts of Letters of Major Gen'l Bryan Grimes, to His Wife.
established "Camp Bryan Grimes" in Raleigh and named it for the former Confederate general. It served as a mustering point for North Carolina troops in the Spanish-American War
.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans
local camp in Greenville, North Carolina
, was designated as the Major Bryan Grimes Camp 1988.
Friends and family erected a cenotaph at Trinity Episcopal Cemetery
in Chocowinity, North Carolina with his accomplishments and Civil War service inscribed upon it.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
owner and a general officer in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He fought in nearly all of the major battles of the Eastern Theater
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
of that war.
Grimes was the last man in the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
to be appointed by Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
as a major general. He also led the final attack of that army shortly before its surrender to Union forces
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...
on the morning of April 9, 1865.
Early life and career
Bryan Grimes, Jr. was born on the ancestral family plantation, called "Grimesland," in Pitt County, North CarolinaPitt County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 133,798 people, 52,539 households, and 32,258 families residing in the county. The population density was 205 people per square mile . There were 58,408 housing units at an average density of 90 per square mile...
. His father, Bryan Grimes, Sr., was a prosperous planter. His mother, Nancy Grist, was the daughter of a prominent general from Georgia, who died when Grimes was only four years old, and his older sister for a time raised him. He attended school in Nash County
Nash County, North Carolina
Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 87,420. Its county seat is Nashville.- History :...
and an academy in Little Washington
Washington, North Carolina
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....
before attending a noted private school in Hillsborough
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
. Grimes, at the age of fifteen, enrolled in the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. He graduated four years later in 1848.
In 1849, his father gave him the Grimesland estate, along with control over its 100 slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. On April 9, 1851, he married Elizabeth Hilliard Davis, but she would die only six years later. The couple had four children, one of whom, Bryan Grimes III, died in childhood. A grief-stricken Grimes later traveled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Civil War service
Upon his return to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he was elected as a delegate to North Carolina's secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
convention. He resigned from the commission after the passage of the Ordinance of Secession
Ordinance of Secession
The Ordinance of Secession was the document drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861 by the states officially seceding from the United States of America...
and joined the Confederate Army as the major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
of the newly formed 4th North Carolina Infantry
4th North Carolina Infantry
4th North Carolina Regiment was also known as the Fourth North Carolina State Troops; 4th NCST; and was nicknamed "The Bloody Fourth" after the high rate of casualties at the Battle of Seven Pines. "The effectiveness, steadiness in combat and the aggressiveness of the men to the enemy by the men...
on May 16, 1861. He saw his first combat action at the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
on July 21. Grimes was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
on May 1, 1862, and fought at the Battle of Seven Pines
Battle of Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen....
, during which he was wounded when his injured horse fell on top of him on May 31. a\
On June 19, 1862, Grimes was promoted to the rank of colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
and given command of the 4th North Carolina Infantry
4th North Carolina Infantry
4th North Carolina Regiment was also known as the Fourth North Carolina State Troops; 4th NCST; and was nicknamed "The Bloody Fourth" after the high rate of casualties at the Battle of Seven Pines. "The effectiveness, steadiness in combat and the aggressiveness of the men to the enemy by the men...
, now part of the Army of Northern Virginia. Grimes led the regiment during the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
, but missed the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
and the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
due to a severe leg injury incurred when his horse kicked him on September 5 near Edward's Ferry in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Upon recovery Grimes returned to field duty in temporary command of an infantry brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
within the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill
Daniel Harvey Hill
On July 22, 1862, Hill and Union Maj. Gen. John A. Dix concluded an agreement for the general exchange of prisoners between the Union and Confederate armies. This agreement became known as the Dix-Hill Cartel....
. He fought with the rest of Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
's Second Corps
Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War. It was officially created and named following the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, but comprised units in a corps organization for quite...
at the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
that December, where his men repelled a Union attack.
Grimes returned to his regimental command before the 1863 Chancellorsville Campaign
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, where he was wounded again, this time in a foot, on May 3. During the first day's fighting at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg, First Day
The First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War took place on July 1, 1863, and began as an engagement between isolated units of the Army of Northern Virginia under Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac under Union Maj. Gen. George G. Meade...
, Grimes' regiment was the first organized Confederate unit to enter the streets of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. He was in charge of the rear guard during a part of the army's retreat into Virginia following the three-day battle. On September 15, 1863, he married Charlotte Emily Bryan, and they eventually had ten children together, including John Bryan Grimes
John Bryan Grimes
John Bryan Grimes was a North Carolina Democratic politician and farmer who served as North Carolina Secretary of State from 1901 until his death in 1923....
, who would become North Carolina's secretary of state. Again, another son named Bryan Grimes died in childhood.
During the 1864 Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
, Grimes was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on May 19, and given permanent command of his brigade of North Carolinians. That autumn, he fought in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
as part of the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early. When Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur was killed at Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
, Grimes assumed command of his division on December 9 and led it for the rest of the war. On October 19 while at Cedar Creek he was wounded in a leg.
On February 15, 1865, Grimes was promoted to major general, the last man appointed to that rank in the Army of Northern Virginia. He served in the trenches surrounding Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
and joined Robert E. Lee's retreat to the west that ended when the way was blocked by Federal columns near Appomattox Court House. Grimes led an attack that temporarily cleared Federals from the Lynchburg Road, briefly opening up a possible route of escape for a portion of Lee's army. However, Lee chose to surrender instead of risking useless further bloodshed.
Following the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
, Grimes surrendered along with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, and was paroled at Appomattox Court House. He was pardonned by the U.S. government on June 26, 1866.
Postbellum career and death
After the war, Grimes returned to North Carolina and settled briefly in RaleighRaleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. He subsequently moved back to Grimesland in January 1867 and resumed farming. Ten years later, he was named as a trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of the University of North Carolina.
In 1880, Grimes was ambushed and killed in Pitt County, North Carolina, by a hired assassin named William Parker, presumably to prevent him from testifying at a criminal trial. Grimes had taken part in an attempt to deport immigrants, and was killed by their hitman. Parker was later acquitted at his trial. However, a number of years later Parker returned to the area drunk and boasted of his killing Grimes but winning acquittal. He was arrested for drunk and disorderly. That night a mob entered the deserted jail house, grabbed Parker and lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
him. Nobody was ever tried for the act. Grimes was buried in the family cemetery on his plantation, Grimesland, about five miles northwest of Chocowinity, North Carolina
Chocowinity, North Carolina
Chocowinity is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 720 at the 2008 census...
. A monument (a cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
) to the fallen former Confederate stands in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery located in the village of Chocowinity.
Portions of the letters written home by Grimes throughout the Civil War were published after his death in 1883, entitled Extracts of Letters of Major Gen'l Bryan Grimes, to His Wife.
In Memory
In April 1898, the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
established "Camp Bryan Grimes" in Raleigh and named it for the former Confederate general. It served as a mustering point for North Carolina troops in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
local camp in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, was designated as the Major Bryan Grimes Camp 1988.
Friends and family erected a cenotaph at Trinity Episcopal Cemetery
Trinity Episcopal Church (Chocowinity, North Carolina)
Trinity Episcopal Church, Chocowinity, North Carolina, is an Episcopal parish established in 1774 by the Reverend Nathaniel Blount.In 1773, Nathaniel Blount sailed from Bath, NC to London, England to be ordained a priest. The Bishop of London ordained Mr. Blount to the priesthood in Saint Paul's...
in Chocowinity, North Carolina with his accomplishments and Civil War service inscribed upon it.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
External links
- Extracts of Letters of Major-Gen'l Bryan Grimes to His Wife. Raleigh, NC: Edwards, Broughton & Co., Steam Printers and Binders, 1883.
- Photo gallery of Grimes
- A collection of the Grimes-Bryan Papers is available at the J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University.