Carter Moore Braxton Jr. (1836–1898) was an American civil engineer and businessman in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

artillery officer, rising to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early and family life

Carter Moore Braxton Jr. was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

on September 5, 1836, the son of Carter Moore Braxton Sr. by his third wife, Elizabeth Teagle Mayo Braxton.

Elliott Muse Braxton Elliott Muse Braxton (October 8, 1823 – October 2, 1891) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. He was the great-grandson of Carter Braxton. Early life Born either in Mathews County or Fredericksburg, Virginia, to C ...

was his elder half brother. The Braxton family of merchants and planters had long been prominent in King and Queen County which his great-great grandfather George Braxton, Sr., great-grandfather George Braxton, Jr. and grandfather

Carter Braxton Carter Braxton (September 10, 1736October 10, 1797) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, a merchant, planter, a Founding Father of the United States and a Virginia politician. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of ...

had represented in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, and where the family owned large plantations. C.M. Braxton Sr. soon moved his family from Norfolk back to King and Queen County, where his father owned 20 slaves in the 1840 federal census. There Carter Moore Braxton Sr. died in 1847, when this boy was eleven. C.M. Braxton finished his education at the Hanover Academy, then moved to Fredericksburg. There he rose to become chief engineer in charge of construction for the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad by the start of the American Civil War, but only grading had begun. A Carter Braxton, either this man or a relative, owned 94 slaves in the eastern district of Hanover County in 1850.

Military career

During the

he enlisted in the forces of the Confederacy, and on May 8, 1861, was made captain of the artillery company from Fredericksburg which became known as Braxton's Battery. About a year later he was appointed chief of artillery on the staff of General

A. P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from another, unrelated Confederate general, Daniel Harvey Hi ...

, in which capacity he served throughout the war. During the Civil War, Braxton fought in the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...

, the

Second Battle of Manassas The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

and the battles of Cedar Mountain,

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, the Wilderness,

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, Hatcher's Run, and Five Forks. Braxton was frequently in the heat of battle, and one later account states that he had seven horses killed under him in the course of the war. However, he was never wounded in action. After the war he prepared for publication a ''Map of the Battle Field of Fredericksburg, Explained by Extracts from Official Reports'' (1866).

Civilian life

During his residence and up to the time of his death he was connected with many important enterprises of Newport News and when the

Chesapeake and Ohio railroad The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond ...

was extended to that city from Richmond he was chief engineer of the work. He was also the first president of the First National Bank and at the time of his death was vice-president of the Newport News Gas Company. For many years he was an active member of the First Baptist Church.''Daily Press'' May 28, 1898, p. 1.

Death

Following the conflict, Braxton moved to

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

and lived there till death.Lane 2021.''The Daily Star'' May 28, 1898, p. 3. He died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

in Newport News on May 27, 1898, in his sixty-first year. His wife and five children were with him when he died. He was buried in the local Greenlawn Cemetery.

References

Sources

* Lane, Martin S. (December 22, 2021)
"Carter M. Braxton (1836–1898)"
In ''Encyclopedia Virginia''. Virginia Humanities. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
"Col. C. M. Braxton Dead"
'' The Daily Star''. May 28, 1898. p. 3.
"Col. Braxton Dead"
''Daily Press''. May 28, 1898. p. 1.
"Braxton's Battery"
''

The Daily Times ''Daily Times'' may refer to the following national newspapers: * ''Daily Times'' (Nigeria), newspaper published in Nigeria * ''Daily Times'' (Pakistan), newspaper published in Pakistan ''The Daily Times'' may refer to the following newspapers: * ...