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Isaac R. Trimble

 
Isaac R. Trimble

 
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Isaac R. Trimble
 
 
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Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15, 1802 – January 2, 1888) was a United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 officer, a civil engineer
Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked on armaments and defenses....
, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 general in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
 at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
.

ble was born in Culpeper County, Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. He moved to Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 and was nominated by that state to attend the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
 at West Point, New York
West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Highland Falls, New York in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census....
, from which he graduated in 1822, commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest Officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /l?f't?n?nt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu't?n?nt/ ....
 of artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
.






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Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15, 1802 – January 2, 1888) was a United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 officer, a civil engineer
Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked on armaments and defenses....
, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 general in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
 at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
.

Youth, education, building railroads

Trimble was born in Culpeper County, Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. He moved to Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 and was nominated by that state to attend the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
 at West Point, New York
West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Highland Falls, New York in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census....
, from which he graduated in 1822, commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest Officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /l?f't?n?nt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu't?n?nt/ ....
 of artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
. 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
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore, Maryland, west to Sandy Hook, Maryland....
. He was a construction engineer for the Boston and Providence Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an United States railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy," the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
 predecessors Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland....
, and Baltimore and Potomac Railroads. In his final job, as a superintendent, he relocated permanently to Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
.

Civil War

When Trimble realized that Maryland would not secede
Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. It is not to be confused with succession, the act of following in order or sequence....
 from the Union
Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
, he returned to his Virginia home and joined the Confederate army as a colonel
Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General ....
 of engineers in 1861. He was promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
 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
Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
's campaign
Valley Campaign

The Valley Campaign was Confederate States Army Major General Stonewall Jackson brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War....
 in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
 and he distinguished himself in the Battle of Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys

The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Major General Stonewall Jackson campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War....
 by ordering a dangerous close-in musket
Musket

A musket is a Muzzle -loaded, smoothbore long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder.Usually, the musket is thought to be the weapon that replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle....
 volley that routed Union troops under John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont

John Charles Fr?mont , was an United States military Commissioned officer, List of explorers, the first candidate of the History of United States Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery....
. During the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War....
 under Jackson, his brigade fought hard at Gaines' Mill
Battle of Gaines' Mill

The Battle of Gaines' Mill, also known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War....
 and he sought to follow up the unsuccessful assault on Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, was the sixth and last of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War....
 by making a night attack, but his request was refused.

In the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
, Trimble's brigade defeated a Union brigade at Freeman's Ford. He then marched with Jackson around Maj. Gen. John Pope
John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
'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
Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
 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
Valley District

The Valley District was an organization of the Confederate States Army and subsection of the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War, responsible for operations between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Allegheny Mountains of Virginia....
 in the Shenandoah Valley.

By June 1863, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
 had crossed the Potomac River
Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles long, with a Drainage basin of about 14,700 square miles ....
 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
Richard S. Ewell

Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E....
 on the way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. As of the United States Census, 2000, the city had a population of 48,950, making it the tenth largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Erie, Pennsylvania, Reading, Pennsylvania, Scranton, Pennsylvani...
, 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
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
 began and Ewell's Second Corps reached the battlefield in early afternoon, smashing into the Union XI Corps
XI Corps (ACW)

The XI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, best remembered for its humiliating defeats at the battles of Battle of Chancellorsville and Battle of Gettysburg in 1863....
 and driving them south through the town to Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill

Cemetery Hill is a key terrain feature in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the northernmost extent of Cemetery Ridge. It played prominent roles in all three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863....
. Trimble wrote the following about his encounter with Ewell:

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
Michael Shaara

Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as an airborne infantry officer in the Korean War....
's novel, The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels

The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975 in literature. The book tells the story of four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 29, 1863, as the troops of both the United States of America and the Confederate States of America move into bat...
.

On July 3, 1863, Trimble was one of the three division commanders in Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
. He stepped in to replace W. Dorsey Pender
William Dorsey Pender

William Dorsey Pender was one of the youngest, and most promising, General officers fighting for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War....
, 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
J. Johnston Pettigrew

James Johnston Pettigrew was an author, lawyer, linguist, diplomat, and a Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War. He was a major leader in the disastrous Pickett's Charge and was killed a few days after the Battle of Gettysburg during the Confederate retreat to Virginia....
 (formerly by Henry Heth
Henry Heth

Henry "Harry" Heth was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War. He is best-remembered for precipitating the Battle of Gettysburg, accomplished inadvertently while sending some of his troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to the small Pennsylvania village, according to his...
). 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
Hunter McGuire

Hunter Holmes McGuire, M.D. was a physician, teacher, and orator. He started several schools and hospitals which later became part of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia....
 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."

Gettysburg was the end of Trimble's military career. He spent the next year and a half in Federal hands at Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island

Johnson's Island is a 300-acre island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate States Army commissioned officers captured during the American Civil War....
 and Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)

Fort Warren is a historic fort on the 28-acre Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with Rock and granite, and was constructed from 1833-1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War....
. He was recommended for parole
Parole

Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French language parole, meaning " word." Following its use in late-medieval Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their word of honor to abide...
 soon after capture, but former U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron

Simon Cameron was an United States politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War....
 recommended against it, citing Trimble's expert knowledge of northern railroads. He was finally paroled in Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 71,282 at the 2007 United States Census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River , Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes described as "A City Unto Itself" mostly in ref...
, 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
Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the U.S. state of Maryland in the United States. Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay....
, 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
Baltimore Civil War Museum

The Baltimore Civil War Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a unique building with a curved roof supported by an arched truss was originally the President Street Station built in 1849–50 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company....
.

In popular media

Isaac Trimble was played by actor W. Morgan Sheppard
W. Morgan Sheppard

William Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London, England to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland....
 in the movies Gettysburg and Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)

Gods and Generals is a 2003 film based on the novel, Gods and Generals, by Jeffrey Shaara. It is considered a prequel to the 1993 film Gettysburg , which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Michael Shaara, Jeff Shaara's father....
.

See also


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