Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/771

This page has been validated.
CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
715

row formed the acquaintance of William F. Lynch, the Federal commander of the skirmish line who confronted him. The two became warm friends, and while congratulating the Federal soldier upon his success in subsequently gaining the brevet rank of brigadier-general, Captain Barrow took occasion to say that he was still a captain, but that if the Confederate soldiers had enjoyed the privilege of promotion on the field, they would all have been brigadier-generals before the end of the war. While serving under General Hoke in the siege of Plymouth, N. C., Captain Barrow was severely wounded in the right knee by a fragment of shell, from the effects of which he has never recovered. Immediately after the battle of Drewry's Bluff he and his adjutant stood on guard alone one night, watching the line of Grant's army, while the exhausted men of the regiment slept. He was at this time frequently in command of the regiment as senior captain, and he held that honor in the last dress parade of the gallant Twenty-fourth. At Five Forks, where Pickett's division was hotly beset, he was captured, and the remainder of the war period, up to June, 1865, he passed at Johnson's island. On returning to the South he engaged in the grocery business at Baltimore, and in 1871 he established himself in the same trade at Danville, but went out of that business several years ago and has since been engaged in the tobacco business. He is a member of Cabell-Graves camp and is an influential citizen.

James E. Barry, first lieutenant of the famous United Artillery, of Norfolk, was born in Savannah, Ga., where his father, James Barry, resided previous to his removal to Norfolk, in 1818. His father, who was engaged in business at Norfolk, as a dealer in crockery, died December 20, 1871, at the age of ninety-eight years. His mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Ann Ahem, died at Norfolk of yellow fever in 1826. Lieutenant Barry is descended from an ancient and honorable family in Ireland, his great-great-grandfather being James III, earl of Barrymore. After the retirement of his father from business, in 1855, he succeeded him in trade, and continued in that occupation until the outbreak of the war. Meanwhile, in early manhood, he held rank as first lieutenant of the Light Artillery Blues, and when the United Artillery was organized at Norfolk a few days before the burning of the navy yard, he was elected second in command to Captain Kevill. He served at Fort Norfolk, and was one of the detail of thirty-one men selected to fill out the fighting force of the Virginia during the attack on the Federal fleet and the engagement with the Monitor. During the interval between the battle of Seven Pines and the subsequent aggressive movements under Lee, Lieutenant Barry commanded the ironclad railroad battery which operated on the York River road. He continued with the battery during all of its well-known service, during a large part of the time in command, until his health broke down in the winter of 1864-65, near the end of the war, when he accepted an honorable discharge, at the advice of the post surgeon. After the close of hostilities he returned to Norfolk, and devoted his time to the care and improvement of his large estate. Since then this has been his chief occupation, but he has also rendered valuable service as a member of the city council, and for twelve years held the position of president of the Bank of Commerce. He maintains a membership in Pickett-Buchanan camp of Confederate Veterans, in which he has held the rank of