Birkett Davenport Fry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1822-06-24)June 24, 1822 |
| Died | January 21, 1891(1891-01-21) (aged 68) |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army Walker's filibuster army Confederate States Army |
| Service years | 1847–1848 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
| Rank |  First lieutenant (USA) Brigadier general (CSA) |
| Conflicts | Mexican-American War Walker's Nicaragua Expedition American Civil War -Peninsula Campaign -Battle of Seven Pines -Battle of Antietam -Battle of Chancellorsville -Battle of Gettysburg -Siege of Petersburg -Battle of Meadow Bridge |
Birkett Davenport Fry (June 24, 1822 – January 21, 1891) was an adventurer, soldier, lawyer, cotton manufacturer, and aConfederatebrigadier general in theAmerican Civil War. A survivor of four battle wounds, he commanded one of the leadbrigades duringPickett's Charge at theBattle of Gettysburg.
Fry was born inKanawha County, Virginia (nowWest Virginia) on June 24, 1822.[1] He received his education atVirginia Military Institute inLexington, and attended theUnited States Military Academy, but did not graduate with the Class of 1846,[1] having failed mathematics and been subsequently dismissed. He then returned to his native Virginia to study law.[1] He resumed his interest in the military with the outbreak of theMexican–American War, serving as afirst lieutenant ofvoltigeurs (skirmishers).[1]
Following the war, Fry moved toCalifornia as a "Forty-Niner." Fry practiced law in Sacramento City and was elected Justice of the Peace, Fourth Ward in 1852. In October 1856, he accompanied thefilibusterer,William Walker, during hisexpedition to Nicaragua[1] as acolonel (and later general) in Walker'smercenary army. Fry returned to California, living there until 1859 when he moved toAlabama and engaged in cotton manufacturing.[1] Fry had married Martha MiCou, whose family were among the owners of the cotton mills inTallassee, Alabama.[2]
With Alabama'ssecession from theUnion, Fry enlisted in the Confederate army and was appointedcolonel of the 13th Alabama Infantry.[1] Theregiment was transported toVirginia and as part ofBrig. Gen.James J. Archer's Brigade (which belonged to A. P. Hill's famous Light Division) fought in thePeninsula Campaign. Colonel Fry was wounded in action at theBattle of Seven Pines.[1] He recovered in time to command his regiment during the Second Manassas Campaign and thereafter in Maryland in the fighting atAntietam, where he was again wounded, suffering a shattered arm.[1]
Fry rejoined his regiment and led it in Archer's Brigade during the 1863Battle of Chancellorsville, where he suffered a third wound.[1] During the subsequentGettysburg campaign, Archer's Brigade (with Fry's 13th Alabama) was among the first Confederate units to deploy into battleline and engage the Unioncavalry ofJohn Buford at the opening of theBattle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. The brigade was hit hard and Fry's men suffered considerable casualties after being driven off McPherson's Ridge by the arrival of the FederalIron Brigade. General Archer was captured in the action (the first general to be taken prisoner from Lee's Army of Northern Virginia). Fry as the senior colonel assumed command of the brigade of Tennesseans and Alabamians.[1] The shattered command was in reserve on July 2. For reasons that remain unsatisfactory and unclear, Fry's new command was tasked with a key part of the July 3 attack that became famous asPickett's Charge.[1] He suffered yet another wound that would cost him his leg near the Union lines. Fry was treated in a localfield hospital then held as aprisoner of war atFort McHenry inBaltimore,
There, rumors circulated that Fry had been involved in the August 1862 murder of Union generalRobert L. McCook in Alabama. Fry's West Point classmate,John Gibbon, who ironically commanded the troops that had shot Fry at Gettysburg, vouched for his character and the matter was forgotten.[3]
Exchanged in the spring of 1864, Fry was briefly assigned to Robert Ransom's Department of Richmond at the beginning of theBermuda Hundred Campaign, where he was assigned command ofSeth Barton's brigade of Virginians, following that general's dismissal after theBattle of Chester Station. Fry was immediately ordered to move this brigade to Richmond to defend the capital againstPhilip Sheridan's Federal cavalry, which was thwarted at theBattle of Meadow Bridge on May 12. Fry's brigade then returned to Ransom at Drewry's Bluff, who had in the meantime been reinforced by P.G.T. Beauregard's army arriving from North Carolina. Fry's brigade then fought at theBattle of Proctor's Creek.
Fry subsequently rejoined Lee'sArmy of Northern Virginia and was assigned command of Archer's former brigade inHenry Heth's division ofA.P. Hill's Third Corps for theBattle of Cold Harbor. Fry served during theSiege of Petersburg.[4]
During the final months of the war, Fry was placed in command of a military district inSouth Carolina andGeorgia.[4]
After surrendering inAugusta, Fry emigrated toCuba at the close of hostilities,[4] lodging inHavana hotels with several other former prominent Confederates, includingJubal A. Early,John C. Breckinridge,Robert A. Toombs, andJohn B. Magruder, among others.[5] He did not return to the United States until 1868, when he returned toTallassee, Alabama, as a businessman. He resided at No. 1, King Street, in a house built for Confederate Officers in charge of the Tallassee Armory.[2] His home is still standing and after renovations now serves as the law offices of The Segrest Law Firm. Fry later expanded his business career in Florida, and, in 1881, moved toRichmond, Virginia, where he was president of a cotton mill for a decade.[4]
Fry died in Richmond on January 21, 1891, and was buried inOakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama.
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