- Joined
- Dec 3, 2011
- Location
- Laurinburg NC
In 1922, several newspapers reported that John Grimball served longer than any main in the Confederate military. There may be truth to the claim. Grimball resigned his U.S. navy commission days after his native South Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Palmetto State's navy on or about Dec. 29, 1860. He was present when Citadel cadets fired on the "Star of the West" on Jan. 9, 1861, preventing her from delivering supplies to Maj. Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter. Grimball went on to become an officer aboard the cruiser "Shenandoah" and wreak havoc on Union merchant ships until she surrendered on Nov. 6, 1865—a full seven months after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. As the "Shenandoah" is credited with firing the last shot of the Civil War, it may be fairly stated that Grimball was present for the first and last shots of the war.
Image source: Liljenquist Family Collection, Library of Congress.