Grimes, Bryan, 1828-1880

Bryan Grimes (1828-1880), the son of Bryan Grimes Sr. and Nancy Grist, was a Confederate General and an enslaver who owned a cotton plantation. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1848, and the following year, his father gave him the family plantation Grimesland in Pitt County, N.C., along with approximately 100 enslaved persons. Bryan Grimes lived the life of plantation owner until the eve of the Civil War in 1861. He then attended North Carolina's state convention and took a stand as a firm secessionist, signing North Carolina's Ordinance of Secession. He went on to become a major in the 4th Regiment of North Carolina State Troops before reaching the rank of major general, taking active roles in well-known battles, such as the Battle of First Manassas, the Battle of Seven Pines, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. His fighting ended at Appomattox Courthouse when General Lee ordered him to fall back in preparation for the Confederate surrender.

Grimes returned to his plantation in Grimesland until he was killed in August 1880 by an unknown assassin on his way home from a trip. While the motive for the attack has never been confirmed, it has been argued it was due to Grimes' involvement as a leader in the local Ku Klux Klan organization.

Grimes married his first wife, Elizabeth Hilliard Davis, in 1851. They were the parents of Bryan, who died in infancy; Bettie; Nancy; and Bryan (1860-1920). Elizabeth Hilliard Davis died in 1857, and Grimes married Charlotte Emily Bryan (1840-1920) in 1863. They were the parents of Bryan, who died in infancy; Alston; John Bryan (1868-1923); Charlotte Bryan; Mary Bryan; Susan Penelope; William Demsie; George Frederick; Junius Daniel; and Theodora Bryan.