A Live Major General or a Dead Brigadier: Abner Monroe Perrin

Brigadier General Abner Monroe Perrin

       Part of the problem of living with a sleep disorder is finding yourself wide awake at five in the morning and wishing you were asleep. Of course falling asleep about four yesterday afternoon and waking up at midnight has something to do with it. I thought I would use this time writing about one of my favorite Confederate generals. 

       Abner Perrin was born in 1827 in South Carolina. He fought in the Mexican War at the age of 19 and earned promotion to lieutenant while there. Following that war, he returned to South Carolina where he became an attorney. When the Civil War began, Perrin was elected captain in the 14th South Carolina Infantry.

       They would see their first action in the Seven Days battles around Richmond in the summer of 1862. Perrin and his men were heavily engaged at both Gaines' Mill and Frayser's Farm during the now famous Seven Days Campaign. 

       They fought at Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (Antietam), and Fredericksburg. Perrin was slightly wounded at Fredericksburg where his brigade commander Maxcy Gregg was killed. Perrin received a promotion to colonel in January of 1863. At Chancellorsville when all the senior officers were killed or wounded, Perrin was placed in charge of the brigade. He would travel to Gettysburg in command of the brigade, but still only ranked colonel. He lost almost half his brigade in the attack on the first day there, but he led the brigade forward and broke the Federal line in his front. 

       Perrin was promoted to brigadier general in September of 1863. When his former commander Samuel McGowan returned to duty in February of 1864 after his long recuperation from Chancellorsville, Perrin took command of Wilcox's Alabama Brigade. He led his new brigade at the Wilderness, again proving himself to be a great leader. 

The "Mule Shoe" at Spotsylvania

       At Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, Perrin was ordered to lead his brigade of Alabamians into the breach when the Federals overran the "Mule Shoe." He said, "I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier." He led his men into the breach and helped close the gap, stopping the Federal advance. Perrin didn't live to see his men triumph. He fell from his horse struck by several bullets. His body would be carried back to Fredericksburg, Virginia and buried in the City Cemetery. Although he didn't receive his desired promotion to major general, he was deserving of such rank. He'd proven himself on many battlefields and the wonder is that such a brave man lived as long as he did. 

Grave of Abner Monroe Perrin

John Decatur Barry: The man who destroyed a stone wall

John Decatur Barry

       John Decatur Barry was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1839. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and was working as a banker when the war began. He was a member of a local militia company that became Company I, Eighteenth North Carolina Infantry. 

       The regiment spent the first part of the war in North Carolina. In April, 1862 the company was reorganized and Barry was made a captain. The regiment was sent to Robert E. Lee's army the next month and fought during the Seven Days battles where they took heavy casualties. Barry himself was seriously wounded at Frayser's Farm. It is believed he wasn't able to return to the army until September. He would enter Maryland with Lee's army where he was commended for his gallantry and bravery and awarded with a promotion to major. Barry would see action at Fredericksburg in December. 

       The low point of Barry's career would occur at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. After Stonewall Jackson's successful attack on the Federal right flank, the Eighteenth North Carolina was called up from reserve for night operations. A group of horsemen came riding toward the fresh regiment. Barry, thinking it was Federal cavalry ordered his men to open fire. Despite the yells from the riders that they were friends, Barry thinking it was a trick ordered them to fire again. Because of this order, John Decatur Barry had mortally wounded Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

       The battle had been severe on the officer corps of the Eighteenth North Carolina. Out of thirteen field officers, only Barry was unhurt. He had moved from private to colonel in just over a year. He would lead the regiment in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg and during the Mine Run Campaign. Because of his actions during the Battle of the Wilderness, Barry's commanding officer recommended he be promoted to brigadier. He also saw heavy action at Spotsylvania. 

       When Brigadier General James Lane was wounded at Cold Harbor, Barry took command of the brigade. He would see his first major action in command of a brigade at the Weldon Railroad. General Lee asked Davis to promote Barry to brigadier general in command of Lane's brigade. He would never lead the brigade in battle once he was promoted. While scouting the Federal lines at Deep Bottom, a Federal sharpshooter shot the newly appointed brigadier in the hand which caused him to lose two fingers and remain out of action for the rest of the year. Lee was forced to ask the war department to cancel the promotion which it did. 

Barry as a major

       He would return to duty and again command the brigade in early 1865, but was soon transferred back to North Carolina. After the war he became a newspaper editor. Just two years after the war, Barry would die in Wilmington, North Carolina at the age of twenty-six. The man was noted for his bravery. He rests today in Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery. 

       It was said that he returned from the war with his health broken, but his friends told a different story about the man's early death. It was said that Barry felt responsible for Stonewall's death and couldn't live with the fact that he may have cost the Confederacy the war that night at Chancellorsville. His friends often said that John Decatur Barry died of a broken heart.

John Decatur Barry's grave

The inscription reads, "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant."

This is in reference to his rise from private to general.