John D. Barry

John Decatur Barry
Born	(1839-06-21)June 21, 1839 Wilmington, North Carolina
Died	March 24, 1867(1867-03-24) (aged 27) Wilmington, North Carolina
Place of burial	Oakdale Cemetery Wilmington, North Carolina
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Colonel File:Confederate States of America General.png Brigadier General (temporary)
Commands held	18th North Carolina Infantry Lane's Brigade (temporary)
Battles/wars	American Civil War Peninsula Campaign Northern Virginia Campaign Maryland Campaign Battle of Chancellorsville Gettysburg Campaign Overland Campaign
Other work	Newspaper editor

John Decatur Barry (June 21, 1839 – March 24, 1867) was an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The men he was leading at Chancellorsville mistakenly fired on General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Early life

Barry was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on June 21, 1839. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Civil War

Barry enlisted in Company I of the 18th North Carolina Infantry when the Civil War began. He was elected captain of Company I in April 1862. The 18th was part of Lawrence O'Bryan Branch's brigade, and took part in all of the major battles with A.P. Hill's Light Division. Barry was wounded at the Battle of Frayser's Farm during the Peninsula Campaign.

Following the Battle of Antietam, Barry was promoted to major. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, Barry gave the order to fire on Stonewall Jackson's party as they attempted to ride through James H. Lane's brigade, believing they were Union cavalry. Despite the error, Barry was promoted to colonel of the 18th North Carolina after the battle. He led the regiment during Pickett's Charge on July 3 at Gettysburg. Throughout the 1864 Overland Campaign, Barry continued to lead the 18th North Carolina.

Lane was wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 2 and Barry was appointed brigadier general (temporary) to replace him. However, on July 27, at the Battle of Deep Bottom, Barry was wounded in the right hand. The wound caused him to lose two fingers to amputation. Because he was disabled and after Lane returned to lead the brigade, the temporary appointment to brigadier general was cancelled. In February 1865, Barry was ordered to command a department in North Carolina.

Postbellum activities

Barry did not even live two years after the surrender of the Confederate forces. Returning home in poor health, he edited a newspaper in Wilmington before dying on March 24, 1867. Some of his friends and family said that Barry "died of a broken heart" for his role in Jackson's death. He is buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate)

References

• And then A.P. Hill Came Up- Biography of John D. Barry
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

• John Decatur Barry Find a Grave No. 9857 Retrieved May 7, 2016.