Isaac R. Trimble

Infobox Military Person
name= Isaac Ridgeway Trimble
lived= May 15, 1802 – death date and age|1888|1|2|1802|5|15
placeofbirth= Culpeper County, Virginia
placeofdeath= Baltimore, Maryland


caption= Gen. Isaac R. Trimble
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America
branch=United States Army Confederate States Army
serviceyears=1822-1832
1861-1863
rank= Major General
commands=
unit=
battles= American Civil War
*Valley Campaign
*Seven Days Battles
*Second Battle of Bull Run
*Battle of Gettysburg
awards=
laterwork=Railroad executive

Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15 1802 – January 2 1888) was a U.S. Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Youth, education, building railroads

Trimble was born in Culpeper County, Virginia. He moved to Kentucky and was nominated by that state to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, from which he graduated in 1822, commissioned as a second lieutenant of artillery. He served in the 3rd and 1st U.S. Artillery regiments, but left the U.S. Army in 1832 to pursue the emerging business of railroad construction.

Trimble helped survey the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He was a construction engineer for the Boston and Providence Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad predecessors Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, and Baltimore and Potomac Railroads. In his final job, as a superintendent, he relocated permanently to Maryland.

Civil War

When Trimble realized that Maryland would not secede from the Union, he returned to his Virginia home and joined the Confederate army as a colonel of engineers in 1861. He was promoted to brigadier general on August 9 1861, and by November 16 was in command of a brigade in the (Confederate) Army of Northern Virginia.

Trimble first saw combat as part of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley and he distinguished himself in the Battle of Cross Keys by ordering a dangerous close-in musket volley that routed Union troops under John C. Frémont. During the Seven Days Battles under Jackson, his brigade fought hard at Gaines' Mill and he sought to follow up the unsuccessful assault on Malvern Hill by making a night attack, but his request was refused.

In the Second Battle of Bull Run, Trimble's brigade defeated a Union brigade at Freeman's Ford. He then marched with Jackson around Maj. Gen. John Pope's main force and captured a supply depot in their rear, along with two artillery batteries, which eventually compelled Pope to attack Jackson's strong defensive positions and suffer a severe defeat. Trimble was wounded in the leg with an explosive bullet and he had to deal with poor health (due in part to his advanced age) for many months in his recovery. Although he was promoted to major general in January 1863, he was unable to command a division due to his health, and he was assigned to light duty as commander of the Valley District in the Shenandoah Valley.

By June 1863, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had crossed the Potomac River on its second invasion of the north and Trimble was desperate to get back into action, particularly because he was familiar with the area from his railroad days. He joined Lee's headquarters unsolicited, but wore out his welcome hanging around without formal assignment. Riding north, he caught up with Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell on the way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and joined his staff as a supernumerary, or senior officer in command of nothing. He and Ewell quarreled frequently due to this clumsy arrangement and Trimble's lack of tact.

On July 1 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg began and Ewell's Second Corps reached the battlefield in early afternoon, smashing into the Union XI Corps and driving them south through the town to Cemetery Hill. Trimble wrote the following about his encounter with Ewell: [Trimble, "Southern Historical Society Papers".]

Observers have reported that the "impatient reply" was, "When I need advice from a junior officer I generally ask for it." And that Trimble threw down his sword in disgust and stormed off. A more colorful version of this account has been immortalized in Michael Shaara's novel, "The Killer Angels."

On July 3 1863, Trimble was one of the three division commanders in Pickett's Charge. He stepped in to replace W. Dorsey Pender, of A.P. Hill's Corps, who was mortally wounded the previous day. Trimble was at a great disadvantage because he had never worked with these troops before. His division participated in the left section of the assault, advancing just behind the division led by J. Johnston Pettigrew (formerly by Henry Heth). The slaughter of the assault is well known. Trimble rode his horse, Jinny, and was wounded in the leg, the same left leg as at Second Bull Run. His leg was amputated by Dr. Hunter McGuire and he could not be taken along with the retreating Confederates, because of fear of infection that would result from a long ambulance ride back to Virginia, so he was left to be captured by Union soldiers. Of the charge at Gettysburg Trimble said: "If the men I had the honor to command that day could not take that position, all hell couldn't take it." [Quoted in [http://www.brotherswar.com/Gettysburg-3f.htm Brothers' War web site] , citing Gettysburg National Military Park audio tour.]

Gettysburg was the end of Trimble's military career. He spent the next year and a half in Federal hands at Johnson's Island and Fort Warren. He was recommended for parole soon after capture, but former U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron recommended against it, citing Trimble's expert knowledge of northern railroads. He was finally paroled in Lynchburg, Virginia, on April 16, 1865, just after Lee's surrender.

Post-war years, heritage

After the war, Trimble was equipped with an artificial leg and returned to Maryland to resume his engineering work. Records of the Pennsylvania Railroad indicate that he resigned as chief engineer of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in July 1867.

Isaac Trimble died in Baltimore, Maryland, and is buried there in Green Mount Cemetery, arguably the most famous Maryland resident who fought for the Confederacy. In 1849, Trimble built Baltimore's historic 1849 President Street Station. The oldest big city train station in America, it was restored in 1997 to serve as the Baltimore Civil War Museum.

In popular media

Isaac Trimble was played by actor W. Morgan Sheppard in the movies "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals".

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Tagg, Larry, [http://www.rocemabra.com/~roger/tagg/generals/ "The Generals of Gettysburg"] , Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
* Trimble, Isaac R., [http://www.gdg.org/Research/People/Trimble/shtrimbl.html "The Battle and Campaign of Gettysburg"] , "Southern Historical Society Papers", vol. XXVI, 1898.

Notes

Further reading

* Trimble, David C., "Furious, Insatiable Fighter: A Biography of Maj. Gen. Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, C.S.A.", University Press of America, 2005, ISBN 0-7618-3251-3.

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/biz/presidentststation/ Friends of President Street Station (Baltimore)]