Isaac Ridgeway Trimble

Description

Oil on canvas portrait painting of Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (1802-1888), 1852, by Samuel Bell Waugh (1814-1885). Trimble was born in Virginia and graduated from West Point in 1822. He served for ten years as a U.S. Army officer until his resignation to pursue a railroad career. Trimble settled in Baltimore where he helped survey the route for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He also worked as an engineer for the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad, Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, Philadelphia & Baltimore Central Railroad, and Baltimore & Potomac Railroad. In 1861, when Maryland did not secede from the Union, he travelled south and joined the Confederate Army with the rank of colonel. He quickly rose through the rank and became a major general. He participated in many different engagements with the Army of Northern Virginia, including Second Manassas, Seven Days Battles, and the Valley Campaign. On July 3, 1863, he commanded a division during the famous "Pickett's Charge" assault. Mounted on his horse, he was hit in the leg and had to be left by Robert E. Lee's retreating army. Trimble's leg was amputated and he spent the rest of the Civil War as a prisoner. After he was paroled he returned to his railroad career in Baltimore. He died in 1888 and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.