Lawrence O'Bryan Branch

(1820 - 1862)
Home State: North Carolina
Command Billet: Brigade Commander
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: Branch's Brigade

Before the Antietam Campaign:
Pre-War he was an editor, lawyer, and US Congressman (resigned 1861). He had served in the US Army in the Seminole War. In 1861 he was appointed Quartermaster/Paymaster General of NC troops then Col. of the 33rd North Carolina Regiment. Promoted to BGen in Nov 61, he led a brigade at Seven Days, Cedar Run, and Second Manassas.

In the Antietam Campaign:
In command of Branch's Brigade of Hill's Light Division which arrived at Sharpsburg after an all day march from Harpers Ferry late on the afternoon of 17 September. He led part of the counterattack which drove the Federal Left Wing back from Sharpsburg at the end of the battle, where he was killed by a sharpshooter while consulting with General Hill and his other Brigade commanders.

He was one of the 6 General Officers killed or mortally wounded at Sharpsburg honored with a mortuary cannon on the battlefield.

More on the Web:
See a quick career history.

Birth Date: 11/28/1820    Place of Birth: Enfield, NC
College: Princeton    Graduating Year: 1838
Death Date: 09/17/1862    Death Place: Sharpsburg, MD    Burial Place: Old City Cemetery, Raleigh - Durham, North Carolin

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