Edward Burd Grubb

Infobox Military Person
name= Edward Burd Grubb, Jr.
born= Birth date|1841|11|13
died= death date and age|1913|7|7|1841|11|13
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=
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caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=
rank= Brigadier General
commands=
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battles= American Civil War
awards=
laterwork=

Edward Burd Grubb, Jr. (known as E. Burd Grubb) (November 13, 1841 – July 7, 1913) was a Union Army regimental commander in the American Civil War who was later appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as United States Ambassador to Spain. He served in three regiments, commanded two of them, and became a brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers. He was also a noted foundryman, business owner and New Jersey politician who was close to Woodrow Wilson.

Born in Burlington, New Jersey, to Cornwall ore mine owner Edward B. Grubb and his wife Euphemia Parker, he was educated at Burlington College and graduated in 1860, just five months before Abraham Lincoln was elected as President.

War Experience

He was only 19 years old when he enlisted in May 1861 in the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Commissioned as a first lieutenant, he served as an aide to Brig. Gen. George W. Taylor during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and the August 1862 Northern Virginia Campaign that culminated in the Second Battle of Bull Run. In November 1862, he was promoted to Major, and was transferred to the 23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, a nine-month enlistment unit made up of men from his hometown of Burlington and various parts of Burlington County.

In March 1863, despite his youth, he was promoted to Colonel and commander of the regiment when its previous leader, Col. Henry O. Ryerson, left to take command of the 10th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Colonel Grubb led his regiment as it participated in his brigade's assault on Confederate positions at Salem Church during the May 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville. He was wounded in action, and was mustered out when his regiment's enlistment expired by law in June 1863.

After a year spent in recruitment and recruit training, he was commissioned as colonel and commander of the 37th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, a 100-day enlistment unit. The new regiment then served in the trenches of Petersburg, Virginia, and in garrison duty until it was mustered out in October 1864. Colonel Grubb experienced tragedy during this time, as his younger brother Parker Grubb, serving as the 37th New Jersey's regimental Adjutant, died of disease during the regiment's service.

In recognition of his service, Edward Burd Grubb received a brevet promotion to Brigadier General, United States Volunteers on March 13, 1865, for "gallant and meritorious services during the war".

Postbellum

After mustering out later in 1865, Grubb returned to Burlington and established himself as a prominent iron manufacturer, taking over the family's business that went back to his great great grandfather, Peter Grubb. In 1868, he married Elizabeth Wadsworth Van Rensselaer (1848-1886), daughter of an important area family. Burd and Elizabeth had one daughter. He built a house on the river, still known as "Grubb Cottage" and was elected to the Burlington City Council where he served as its president for two years. In 1874, he built a 12-acre estate at Edgewater Park, New Jersey where he annually entertained the survivors of the 23rd regiment.

He stayed active in veterans affairs, and served for 18 years as the ceremonial captain of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (a social organization that had once been George Washington's personal bodyguard during the American Revolution. He was also a colonel in the New Jersey National Guard. Grubb and his wife found time to travel extensively in Europe and accompanied Baron de Lesseps through the Suez Canal. The General was on a safari in Africa when his wife died. Upon his return, he proposed to his long time friend, Harriet Hubbard Ayer, the noted woman's rights activist who made a fortune manufacturing beauty creams. However, she declined his proposal.

Political career

In 1889, Republicans nominated for Grubb for Governor, hoping that the war hero could beat Leon Abbett, a popular former Governor. Abbett had a easy time beating the political novice, but the liquor lobby did not take any chances. For example, more votes were counted in Jersey City's Irish wards than registered voters. Sixty-nine election workers were convicted of fraud and sent to prison. However, Abbet was able to use the scandal to his advantage by taking up Grubb's call for ballot reform.

Also that year, Benjamin Harrison was elected President and selected the Grubb's friend, James Blaine as Secretary of State. Blaine arranged for the General to be appointed as Ambassador to Spain. During his term, Grubb negotiated a trade reciprocity treaty. In 1892, he resigned and returned to New Jersey.

The General remained active and left the Republican Party to become a reformer. Grubb lost an election for Congress in 1908 and actively campaigned for Woodrow Wilson when he ran for Governor two years later. Wilson and Grubb became close and the Governor often stayed at the General's home on the river.

Later Years

While in Spain, Burd met Violet Sopwith (1865 - 1958), the daughter of an English mining engineer working in Spain. Violet's younger brother was Thomas Sopwith who became the famous aviation pioneer. Burd and Violet married before their return to New Jersey and had three children, but one died young, Their son, Edward Burd Grubb III was the President of the New York Curb Exchange during the critical period after the creation of the SEC.

In 1911, Grubb lost his fortune in a bad investment and was appointed by then Governor Wilson as Superintendent of the New Jersey Home for Disabled Soldiers in Kearney, New Jersey. He died in Newark, New Jersey, and was buried in Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard in Burlington. Violet moved back to "Grubb Cottage" then owned by the General's brother. During W.W.I, Violet chaired the British Emergency Aid Committee in Philadelphia and later retired to Maryland to live with her daughter.

ee also

References

*Margaret Hubbard Ayer, "The Three Lives of Harriet Hubbard Ayer" (1957)
*Camille Baquet, "The First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers" (1910)
*Joseph Bilby, "Remember You are Jerseymen - Military History of New Jersey's Troops in the Civil War" (1998)
*Gilbert Cope, "The Grubb Family of Delaware and Pennsylvania" (1893)
*Edward Burd Grubb Jr., "A Campaign for Ballot Reform" (1892)
*David Grubb, "Thre Grubb Family of Grubb's Landing, Delaware" (2008)
*George Wagner, "The Grubb Families of America, Military Service" (1914)

External links

*findagrave|6148 Retrieved on 2008-02-12
* [http://genforum.genealogy.com/grubb/messages/923.html Family genealogy with an extensive biography of E. Burd Grubb]

Persondata
NAME= Grubb, Edward B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union Army general
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