Isaac R. Trimble
Encyclopedia
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was a United States Army
officer, a civil engineer
, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate
general in the American Civil War
, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge
at the Battle of Gettysburg
.
, to John and Rachel Ridgeway Trimble. His family moved to Kentucky
shortly thereafter and he was nominated by his uncle, David Trimble, a Kentucky congressman
, to attend the United States Military Academy
at West Point, New York
, from which he graduated in 1822, 17th in a class of 42. Although he excelled academically in engineering, he was commissioned as a brevet
second lieutenant of artillery
. He served for ten years as a lieutenant in the 3rd and 1st U.S. Artillery regiments, but left the U.S. Army in May 1832, along with five of his West Point classmates, to pursue the emerging business of railroad construction.
Trimble was married twice: first, in 1831 to Maria Cattell Presstman of Charleston, South Carolina
, who died in 1855; second, to her sister, Ann Ferguson Presstman. By his first marriage he had two sons, David Churchill Trimble and William Presstman Trimble, who survived him. Soon after leaving the Army, Trimble relocated permanently to Maryland
at the urging of his wife, and he subsequently considered it his home state. He helped survey the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
. He was a construction engineer for the Boston and Providence Railroad; chief engineer for Pennsylvania Railroad
predecessors Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
, and Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
; and superintendent (1859–61) for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.
troops to Washington, D.C.
, by burning bridges north of Baltimore. When he realized that Maryland would not secede
from the Union
, he returned to Virginia and joined the Provisional Army of the state of Virginia as a colonel
of engineers in May 1861. He was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army
on August 9, 1861, and was assigned to construct artillery batteries along the Potomac River and later the defenses of Norfolk, Virginia
. He was given command in the Army of the Potomac (the predecessor of the Army of Northern Virginia
), of a brigade that consisted of regiments from four different states, effectively merging them into a single fighting unit.
Trimble first saw combat as part of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
's spring 1862 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley
. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Cross Keys
by fighting off an attack from Union troops under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont
, and then seizing the initiative to counterattack and rout them. During the Seven Days Battles
under Jackson outside of Richmond, Virginia
, his brigade had few engagements, but they fought hard at Gaines' Mill
and he sought to follow up the unsuccessful Confederate assault on Malvern Hill
by making a night attack, but his request was refused.
In the Northern Virginia Campaign
, Trimble's brigade performed well at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
and defeated a Union brigade at Freeman's Ford in mid-August. The brigade marched with Jackson around Maj. Gen. John Pope
's main force and Trimble played a major role in the Battle of Manassas Station Operations, seizing a critical supply depot in Pope's rear. Trimble's forced march and action at Manassas Station received praise from Jackson, who said it was "the most brilliant that has come under my observation during the present war." Pope was forced by this maneuver into attacking Jackson's strong defensive positions and suffered a severe defeat in the Second Battle of Bull Run
. Trimble was wounded in the leg during the battle on August 29, resulting in an injury so severe that there was speculation that he was hit with an explosive bullet.
Although Trimble avoided the amputation of his wounded leg, his rehabilitation proceeded slowly. For months after, doctors periodically found bone fragments that had to be extracted. By November, he developed camp erysipelas
and a probable case of osteomyelitis
, and his ambitions for elevation to division command were on hold until he was well enough to return to active duty. He made his desire for promotion abundantly clear to his colleagues, and in one instance before the army moved north to Manassas, he was quoted as saying (probably humorously), "General Jackson, before this war is over, I intend to be a Major General or a corpse!" Jackson wrote a strong letter of recommendation, although he tempered it by including the sentence "I do not regard him as a good disciplinarian." Trimble engaged in a letterwriting campaign from his sick bed to obtain his promotion and to challenge Jackson's claim. He wrote to Adjutant General Samuel Cooper
, "If I am to have promotion I want it at once and I particularly request, that my date may be from 26th August, the date of the capture of Manassas." (During this period Trimble also feuded with Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
about their conflicting reports of the battle and who bore primary responsibility for the seizure of the Union supply depot.)
Trimble was eventually promoted to major general on January 17, 1863, and assigned to the command of Jackson's old division, but he continued to be unable to command in the field due to his health. At the Battle of Chancellorsville
Brig. Gen. Raleigh E. Colston
, as the senior brigadier general, commanded Trimble's division. A recurrence of illness forced him to turn over his division command in the Second Corps to Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson
and he was assigned to light duty as commander of the Valley District
in the Shenandoah Valley on May 28, 1863.
By June 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia had crossed the Potomac River
in the Gettysburg Campaign
. Trimble was desperate to get back into action, particularly because he was familiar with the area from his railroad days. He joined Lee's headquarters unsolicited, and wore out his welcome hanging around without formal assignment. Riding north, he caught up with Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
on the way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, and joined his staff as a supernumerary, or senior officer without a command. He and Ewell quarreled frequently due to this clumsy arrangement and Trimble's lack of tact.
At the Battle of Gettysburg
, Ewell's Second Corps reached the battlefield in the early afternoon of the first day, July 1, 1863, smashing into the Union XI Corps and driving it south through the town to Cemetery Hill
. Trimble wrote the following about his encounter with Ewell:
Observers have reported that the "impatient reply" was, "When I need advice from a junior officer I generally ask for it." They also stated that Trimble threw down his sword in disgust and stormed off. A more colorful version of this account has been immortalized in Michael Shaara
's novel, The Killer Angels
.
On July 3, 1863, Trimble was one of the three division commanders in Pickett's Charge
. He stepped in to replace Maj. Gen. W. Dorsey Pender
, of Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's corps, who was mortally wounded the previous day. Trimble was at a great disadvantage because he had never worked with these troops before. His division participated in the left section of the assault, advancing just behind the division led by Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew
(formerly by Maj. Gen. Henry Heth
). Trimble rode his horse, Jinny, and was wounded in the left leg, the same leg hit at Second Bull Run. Despite feeling faint, the 61-year-old general was able to walk back to the Confederate line on Seminary Hill. His leg was amputated by Dr. Hunter McGuire
, and Trimble could not be taken along with the retreating Confederates, because of fear of infection that would result from a long ambulance ride back to Virginia, so he was left under the care of a family in Gettysburg on July 6 as the army withdrew. Trimble complained bitterly that if his leg had been amputated at Second Bull Run, the bullet would have missed him on this occasion. He was treated in the Seminary Hospital at Gettysburg until August. Of the charge on the third day of Gettysburg, Trimble said: "If the men I had the honor to command that day could not take that position, all hell couldn't take it."
Gettysburg marked the end of Trimble's military career. He spent the next year and a half in Federal hands at Johnson's Island
and Fort Warren
. He was recommended for parole
soon after capture, but former U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron
recommended against it, citing Trimble's expert knowledge of northern railroads. In March 1865, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
ordered Trimble to be sent to City Point, Virginia
, for exchange, but by the time he reached there, Robert E. Lee's army was already retreating in the Appomattox Campaign
. Trimble was finally paroled in Lynchburg, Virginia
, on April 16, 1865, just after Lee's surrender.
. The oldest big city train station in America, it was restored in 1997 to serve as the Baltimore Civil War Museum.
in the movies Gettysburg and Gods and Generals
.
United 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...
officer, a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate
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...
general in 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...
, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
Youth, education, building railroads
Trimble was born in Culpeper County, VirginiaCulpeper County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, to John and Rachel Ridgeway Trimble. His family moved to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
shortly thereafter and he was nominated by his uncle, David Trimble, a Kentucky congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, to attend the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, New York
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
, from which he graduated in 1822, 17th in a class of 42. Although he excelled academically in engineering, he was commissioned as a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
second lieutenant of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. He served for ten years as a lieutenant in the 3rd and 1st U.S. Artillery regiments, but left the U.S. Army in May 1832, along with five of his West Point classmates, to pursue the emerging business of railroad construction.
Trimble was married twice: first, in 1831 to Maria Cattell Presstman of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, who died in 1855; second, to her sister, Ann Ferguson Presstman. By his first marriage he had two sons, David Churchill Trimble and William Presstman Trimble, who survived him. Soon after leaving the Army, Trimble relocated permanently to 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...
at the urging of his wife, and he subsequently considered it his home state. He helped survey the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
. He was a construction engineer for the Boston and Providence Railroad; chief engineer for Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
predecessors Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
, and Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
; and superintendent (1859–61) for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.
Civil War
At the start of the Civil War, Trimble participated in efforts to restrict the movement of UnionUnion 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...
troops to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, by burning bridges north of Baltimore. When he realized that Maryland would not secede
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:...
from the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
, he returned to Virginia and joined the Provisional Army of the state of Virginia as a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of engineers in May 1861. He was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States 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...
on August 9, 1861, and was assigned to construct artillery batteries along the Potomac River and later the defenses of Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. He was given command in the Army of the Potomac (the predecessor of 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...
), of a brigade that consisted of regiments from four different states, effectively merging them into a single fighting unit.
Trimble first saw combat as part of Thomas J. "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 spring 1862 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys
The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
by fighting off an attack from Union troops under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, and then seizing the initiative to counterattack and rout them. During the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
under Jackson outside of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, his brigade had few engagements, but they fought hard at Gaines' Mill
Battle of Gaines' Mill
The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...
and he sought to follow up the unsuccessful Confederate assault on Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill
The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...
by making a night attack, but his request was refused.
In the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
, Trimble's brigade performed well at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...
and defeated a Union brigade at Freeman's Ford in mid-August. The brigade marched with Jackson around Maj. Gen. John Pope
John Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
's main force and Trimble played a major role in the Battle of Manassas Station Operations, seizing a critical supply depot in Pope's rear. Trimble's forced march and action at Manassas Station received praise from Jackson, who said it was "the most brilliant that has come under my observation during the present war." Pope was forced by this maneuver into attacking Jackson's strong defensive positions and suffered a severe defeat in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
. Trimble was wounded in the leg during the battle on August 29, resulting in an injury so severe that there was speculation that he was hit with an explosive bullet.
Although Trimble avoided the amputation of his wounded leg, his rehabilitation proceeded slowly. For months after, doctors periodically found bone fragments that had to be extracted. By November, he developed camp erysipelas
Erysipelas
Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.-Risk factors:...
and a probable case of osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
, and his ambitions for elevation to division command were on hold until he was well enough to return to active duty. He made his desire for promotion abundantly clear to his colleagues, and in one instance before the army moved north to Manassas, he was quoted as saying (probably humorously), "General Jackson, before this war is over, I intend to be a Major General or a corpse!" Jackson wrote a strong letter of recommendation, although he tempered it by including the sentence "I do not regard him as a good disciplinarian." Trimble engaged in a letterwriting campaign from his sick bed to obtain his promotion and to challenge Jackson's claim. He wrote to Adjutant General Samuel Cooper
Samuel Cooper (general)
Samuel Cooper was a career United States Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. Although little-known today, Cooper was also the highest ranking Confederate general during the American Civil War...
, "If I am to have promotion I want it at once and I particularly request, that my date may be from 26th August, the date of the capture of Manassas." (During this period Trimble also feuded with Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
about their conflicting reports of the battle and who bore primary responsibility for the seizure of the Union supply depot.)
Trimble was eventually promoted to major general on January 17, 1863, and assigned to the command of Jackson's old division, but he continued to be unable to command in the field due to his health. At the Battle of Chancellorsville
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...
Brig. Gen. Raleigh E. Colston
Raleigh E. Colston
Raleigh Edward Colston was a French-born American professor, soldier, cartographer, and writer. He was a controversial brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, as the senior brigadier general, commanded Trimble's division. A recurrence of illness forced him to turn over his division command in the Second Corps to Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson
Edward Johnson (general)
Edward Johnson , also known as Allegheny Johnson , was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
and he was assigned to light duty as commander of the Valley District
Valley District
The Valley District was an organization of the Confederate States Army and subsection of the Department of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War, responsible for operations between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Allegheny Mountains of Virginia. It was created on October 22, 1861, and was...
in the Shenandoah Valley on May 28, 1863.
By June 1863, Gen. 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....
's Army of Northern Virginia had crossed the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
in the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
. Trimble was desperate to get back into action, particularly because he was familiar with the area from his railroad days. He joined Lee's headquarters unsolicited, and wore out his welcome hanging around without formal assignment. Riding north, he caught up with Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...
on the way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, and joined his staff as a supernumerary, or senior officer without a command. He and Ewell quarreled frequently due to this clumsy arrangement and Trimble's lack of tact.
At the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, Ewell's Second Corps reached the battlefield in the early afternoon of the first day, July 1, 1863, smashing into the Union XI Corps and driving it south through the town to Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
. Trimble wrote the following about his encounter with Ewell:
Observers have reported that the "impatient reply" was, "When I need advice from a junior officer I generally ask for it." They also stated that Trimble threw down his sword in disgust and stormed off. A more colorful version of this account has been immortalized in Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division...
's novel, The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book tells the story of four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 30, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around...
.
On July 3, 1863, Trimble was one of the three division commanders in Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
. He stepped in to replace Maj. Gen. W. Dorsey Pender
William Dorsey Pender
William Dorsey Pender was one of the youngest, and most promising, generals fighting for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
, of Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's corps, who was mortally wounded the previous day. Trimble was at a great disadvantage because he had never worked with these troops before. His division participated in the left section of the assault, advancing just behind the division led by Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew
J. Johnston Pettigrew
James Johnston Pettigrew was an author, lawyer, linguist, diplomat, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War...
(formerly by Maj. Gen. Henry Heth
Henry Heth
Henry "Harry" Heth was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for inadvertently precipitating the Battle of Gettysburg, when he sent some of his troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to the small Pennsylvania village,...
). Trimble rode his horse, Jinny, and was wounded in the left leg, the same leg hit at Second Bull Run. Despite feeling faint, the 61-year-old general was able to walk back to the Confederate line on Seminary Hill. His leg was amputated by Dr. Hunter McGuire
Hunter McGuire
Hunter Holmes McGuire, M.D. was a physician, teacher, and orator. He started several schools and hospitals which later became part of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. His statue sits prominently on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol...
, and Trimble could not be taken along with the retreating Confederates, because of fear of infection that would result from a long ambulance ride back to Virginia, so he was left under the care of a family in Gettysburg on July 6 as the army withdrew. Trimble complained bitterly that if his leg had been amputated at Second Bull Run, the bullet would have missed him on this occasion. He was treated in the Seminary Hospital at Gettysburg until August. Of the charge on the third day of Gettysburg, Trimble said: "If the men I had the honor to command that day could not take that position, all hell couldn't take it."
Gettysburg marked the end of Trimble's military career. He spent the next year and a half in Federal hands at Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
and Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
. He was recommended for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
soon after capture, but former U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
recommended against it, citing Trimble's expert knowledge of northern railroads. In March 1865, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
ordered Trimble to be sent to City Point, Virginia
City Point, Virginia
City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...
, for exchange, but by the time he reached there, Robert E. Lee's army was already retreating in 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...
. Trimble was finally paroled in Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
, on April 16, 1865, just after Lee's surrender.
Postbellum life and heritage
After the war, Trimble, equipped with an artificial leg, returned to Baltimore, Maryland, to resume his engineering work. He died in Baltimore and is buried there in Green Mount Cemetery, arguably the most famous Maryland resident who fought for the Confederacy. In 1849, Trimble built Baltimore's historic 1849 President Street StationPresident Street Station
thumb|Back of the Baltimore Civil War Museum, 2008The President Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland is a former train station. Built in 1850, it is the oldest surviving big city railroad terminal in the United States...
. The oldest big city train station in America, it was restored in 1997 to serve as the Baltimore Civil War Museum.
In popular media
Isaac Trimble was played by actor W. Morgan SheppardW. Morgan Sheppard
William Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with...
in the movies Gettysburg and Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
Further reading
- Trimble, David C. Furious, Insatiable Fighter: A Biography of Maj. Gen. Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, C.S.A. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2005. ISBN 0-7618-3251-3.
- Tucker, Leslie R. Major General Isaac Ridgeway Trimble: Biography of a Baltimore Confederate. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2005. ISBN 978-0-7864-2131-2.