{⋆★⋆} BG Barry, John D.

John Decatur Barry
:CSA1stNat:

Born:
June 31, 1839
General Barry.jpg


Birth Place: Wilmington, North Carolina

Father: Jonathan Antoine Barry 1810 – 1845

Mother:
Mary Steadman Owen 1815 – 1874
(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

Wife: Fanny Lowery Jones 1846 – 1928
(Buried: Saint John's Church Cemetery, Hampton, Virginia)​

Education:

Graduated from University of North Carolina​

Occupation before War:

Banker in Wilmington, North Carolina​

Civil War Career:

1861 – 1862: Private in 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment​
1862: Captain in 18th​ North Carolina Infantry Regiment​
1862: Wounded during the Battle of Frayser's Farm​
1862: Participated in the Battle of Antietam​
1862 – 1863: Major of 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment​
1863: Gave the order to fire at Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville​
1863 – 1864: Colonel of 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment​
1863: Participated in Pickett's Charge during Battle of Gettysburg​
1864: Participated in the Overland Campaign​
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1864: Wounded during the Battle of Cold Harbor​
1864: Brigadier General of Confederate Army Infantry​
1864: Wounded in the right hand during the Battle of Deep Bottom​
1864: His rank of Brigadier General Canceled due to disabling​
1864 – 1865: Commander of a Department in North Carolina​

Occupation after War:

1865 – 1867: Newspaper Editor in Wilmington, North Carolina​

Died:
March 24, 1867

Place of Death: Wilmington, North Carolina

Cause of Death: Broken Heart due to Stonewall Jackson's death

Age at time of Death: 27 years old

Burial Place: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina
 
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He succeeded the wounded General J.H. Lane as temporary general in command of the brigade. But he himself was wounded a month later and His temporary commission was therefore cancelled due to Lane returning. Barry then reverted to the rank of Colonel.
From what I've read he was only a temporary brigadier to command Lane's brigade while Lane recouperated. His commission was cancelled when Lane returned and I'm guessing he finished out the war as a colonel.
 
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Barry attended the University of North Carolina from 1856 to 1859 but did not graduate, according to: Sketches of the History of the University of North Carolina, together with a Catalogue of Officers and Students, 1789-1889, Printed by the University, 1889, p. 91.

Confederate Military History, Extended Addition, vol. V (North Carolina), p. 374 states that his father graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, but that's not possible since their first graduating class was in 1846.
 
On the night of May 2nd, 1863, John Barry was Major of the 18th North Carolina. His unit spotted a band of horsemen riding towards the line in the darkness. Taking them for federal cavalry, Barry's men opened fire. Two enemy officers shouted to Barry, telling him to stop firing. Barry, believing it to be a yankee trick, called out "Who gave the order? It's a lie! Pour it into them!".
Eventually, Barry and the other men realized the truth; they had fired on Generals Jackson and A. P. Hill (Hill had been one of the officers shouting at Barry to stop firing). Barry's men were most likely responsible for the wounding of Jackson in this incident.
Barry's superiors would be killed the next day in the general assault, and Barry soon became Colonel of the 18th North Carolina. His early death after the war was popularly attributed to what we would today term PTSD over the death of Jackson.
 
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