Bryan Grimes was a successful planter in Pitt County, North Carolina, when the Civil War began. An avowed secessionist, Grimes voted in the convention for his state\u27s withdrawal from the Union and  then resigned his political position to serve in its and the Confederacy\u27s defense. Unschooled in mili...

Wert, Jeffry D.

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Civil War Book Review Summer 1999 Article 29 Unflinching Personal Bravery: Bryan Grimes Was At Lee's Side From Manassas To Appomattox Jeffry D. Wert Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation Wert, Jeffry D. (1999) "Unflinching Personal Bravery: Bryan Grimes Was At Lee's Side From Manassas To Appomattox," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 . DOI: 10.31390/cwbr.1.1.29 Available at: https://repository.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol1/iss1/29 ReviewUNFLINCHING PERSONAL BRAVERYBryan Grimes was at Lee's side from Manassas to AppomattoxWert, Jeffry D.Summer 1999Allen, T. Harrell Lee's Last Major General: Bryan Grimes of North Carolina.Savas, ISBN 1882810236Bryan Grimes was a successful planter in Pitt County, North Carolina, whenthe Civil War began. An avowed secessionist, Grimes voted in the conventionfor his state's withdrawal from the Union and then resigned his political positionto serve in its and the Confederacy's defense. Unschooled in military matters, hewould by war's end rank as a major general with a fine record as a combat officerin the Army of Northern Virginia.T. Harrell Allen, head of the Department of Communications at EastCarolina University, offers the first biographical study of one of theConfederacy's finest examples of a citizen-soldier. Utilizing the correspondenceof the Grimes family and numerous other manuscript collections and publishedworks, Allen has written a solid biography of both the man and the soldier. Thebook is detailed, judicious, and reads well.Although a widower with two young children, Grimes never hesitated toembrace North Carolina's call for volunteers.Appointed major of the 4th North Carolina Infantry, he learned the elementsof soldiering, emerging rapidly as a no-nonsense officer. He believed indiscipline and passionately supported the cause. When his time came to lead meninto combat, he displayed a remarkable skill for handling troops on a battlefieldand an unflinching personal bravery.Grimes fought with his men on nearly all of the major battlefields in theEast. Throughout the four years, he earned praise from superiors, endorsementsfrom his men, and promotion to higher rank. Promoted to major general on1Wert: Unflinching Personal Bravery: Bryan Grimes Was At Lee's Side FromPublished by LSU Scholarly Repository, 1999February 15, 1865, Grimes was the last officer accorded that rank in therenowned army. He commanded a division until the end at Appomattox.At war's end, Grimes returned home, and like thousands of his comrades,had to begin again amid the ashes of a lost cause. He had remarried during thewar, and he, his wife, and children eventually returned to Grimesand, the familyplantation. He farmed, perhaps joined the Ku Klux Klan, and on August 14,1880, with a son by his side, was killed by an unknown assassin. He died withinminutes.Lee's Last Major General fills a gap in the historiography of Lee'slieutenants. The author quotes extensively from Grimes's letters and renders abalanced portrait of the subject. It is a good book, but one which could havebenefitted from the services of a proofreader or editor. Dozens of grammaticaland spelling mistakes mar an otherwise fine narrative.Jeffry D. Wert is author of five books on the Civil War, including ABrotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A.,and the Iron Brigade, U.S.A., which is reviewed in this issue.2Civil War Book Review, Vol. 1, Iss. 1 [1999], Art. 29https://repository.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol1/iss1/29DOI: 10.31390/cwbr.1.1.29

Unflinching Personal Bravery: Bryan Grimes Was At Lee\u27s Side From Manassas To Appomattox

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Unflinching Personal Bravery: Bryan Grimes Was At Lee\u27s Side From Manassas To Appomattox

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