Grave of the First Casualty of the Civil War

The most notable grave in the Grafton National Cemetery, Grafton, West Virginia, is that of Private T. Bailey Brown, a Union soldier who was the first casualty of the War Between the States.On May 22, 1861, Brown, a member of the Grafton Guards, was on his way back home to Grafton, after being in nearby Pruntytown to recruit forces for the Union army.

With him was another Guard, Lt. Daniel Wilson. When they reached the Fetterman Bridge, the two men were ordered to halt by three Confederates, George E. Glenn, Daniel S. Knight, and William Reese, who were doing picket duty at the Bridge where the Northwestern Turnpike crossed the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Brown fired his pistol at the Confederates, injuring Knight in the ear. Knight returned fire in self defense, killing Brown almost instantly. Thus, Thornsberry Bailey Brown became the first casualty of the War Between the States.

A couple of weeks later, June 3, 1861, the first land battle of the Civil War was fought at Philippi, sixteen miles south of where T. Bailey Brown fell.

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