Edmund Kirby was born #OTD in 1840, in Brownville, NY. The town was named for his maternal grandfather, Major General Jacob Brown, who was the first man to hold the title of Commanding General of the @USArmy. Kirby's father was also an Army officer.
Following family tradition, Kirby attended @WestPoint_USMA & graduated in the Class of 1861. With the #CivilWar already raging, he was quickly commissioned as an artillery officer & promoted. He saw action at the Battles of First @ManassasNPS, Ball's Bluff, and @Antietamnps1862.
During the Battle of Chancellorsville in May, 1863, Kirby took over command of the 5th Maine Battery, part of John Reynolds' I Corps, when all of the battery's officers had been killed or wounded. Kirby was struck in the thigh, but insisted the guns be removed before he was.
The guns were saved, and one of Kirby’s men then returned to carry him from the field. That man, Private John F. Chase, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions, at Kirby's recommendation. Chase later lost an arm at the Battle of @GettysburgNMP.
Kirby's thigh wound proved to be mortal. His lost the leg, and infection set in. Visited in his Washington, DC hospital by President Lincoln, Kirby expressed concern for his widowed mother and younger sisters, as he was their sole means of support.
Moved by Kirby's situation, Lincoln ordered him brevetted Brigadier General of Volunteers to ensure a better pension for his family. Kirby died three weeks after he was wounded, and his body was returned to his hometown of Brownville to be buried.
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