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Brig. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble

 

 

 

Born: May 15, 1802

Culpeper County

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Died: January 2, 1888

Baltimore, Maryland

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June 1822: Brevet 2nd Lieutenant

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1832: Left the Army

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May 1861: Colonel of Engineers

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August 8, 1861: Brigadier General

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January 17. 1863: Major General

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Brig. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble

1822: West Point Graduate 17th in class of 42 (nominated by Henry Clay)

June 1822: Commissioned brevet 2nd Lieutenant of Artillery

Served 10 years in 3rd and 1st U. S. Artillery regiments

1832: Left the Army to pursue the emerging railroad construction

Helped to survey the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

April 1861: After Fort Sumter, led a portion of Maryland State Militia to burn railroad bridges around Baltimore to prevent Union troops from reaching Washington

May 1861: After realizing Maryland was not going to secede, moved backed to Virginia and joined the Provisional Army of Virginia as a Colonel of Engineers

August 9, 1861: Appointed Brigadier General and assigned to construct artillery batteries along the Potomac River

May 25, 1862: Battle of 1st Winchester

June 8-9, 1862: Battle of Cross Keys

June 25-July 1, 1862: Seven Days Battle

June 27, 1862: Battle of Gaines Mill

August 9, 1862 Battle of Cedar Mountain

August 22-25, 1862: 1st Battle of Rappahannock Station

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​August 29, 1862 2nd Battle of Bull Run - wounded in the leg

January 17, 1863: Promoted to Major General

May 28, 1863: Assigned to light duty due to his injuries. Commander of the Valley District in the Shenandoah Valley

June 1863: Desperate to get back into action, he joined Gen. Lee's headquarters without orders

Riding north, caught up to Gen. Ewell on his way to Harrisburg, PA and joined his staff without a command

July 1, 1863: Ewell's 2nd Corps reached the Gettysburg battlefield smashing in the Union XI Corps driving it through town

July 3, 1863: One of the divisional commanders in Pickett's Charge - stepped in to replace Maj. Gen. Pender who had been mortally wounded the previous day

Advancing the division, injured in the same leg as 2nd Bull Run. Walked back to to the Confederate lines where his leg was amputated. Could not go south with the army as they were concerned about infection.

After Gettysburg, spent the next year and half as a prisoner. Was recommended for parole after capture, but Sec. of War Cameron would not allow the parole due to expert knowledge of Northern Railroads

April 16, 1865: Paroled after Lee's surrender

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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay Co., 1967. p 849

Isaac R. Trimble. 26 January, 2020. web. 3 March 2020

Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ., 1992. p 310-311

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