The
widow of Gen. Lawrence O’B. Branch was descended from distinguished
North Carolinians: her father was General William Augustus Blount
(1792-1867) of Beaufort County; her mother was Nancy Haywood,
granddaughter of Col. Philemon Hawkins of Warren County. Mrs. Branch
organized Raleigh’s Ladies Memorial Association immediately after the
war.
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"
Passing of Mrs. Lawrence O’B. Branch
“Mrs.
L. O’B. Branch, widow of the famous North Carolina brigadier-general
who gave his life for the Confederacy at Sharpsburg, passed peacefully
away at her home in Raleigh on November 9, 1903. Mrs. Branch had been in
declining health for several months and had almost reached the advanced
age of eighty-six years.
She
was the daughter of General. W.A. Blount, one of North Carolina’s
distinguished men, and her mother was the daughter of Sherwood Haywood,
Esq., of Raleigh. In 1844 she was married to Gen. Lawrence O’B. Branch,
who represented his district in Congress for several terms, and during
that time his family lived in Washington City. [Gen. Branch finished his
literary education at Princeton, came to Tennessee and studied law with
the eminent jurist judge, John Marshall, of Franklin. He resided during
the time with the family of his uncle, Dr. Lawrence D. G. O’Bryan.]
At
the outbreak of war he went to the front and was made
brigadier-general. He lost his life while leading is brigade in the
battle of Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862; and his body was borne from
the field by his faithful Negro servant, Wiley. After forty-one years
of patient watching and waiting, his devoted wife is again with him.
Mrs.
Branch was a remarkable woman. She was deeply interested in
contributing to the needs of Confederate veterans and perpetuating the
memory of those who gave their lives for the cause. It was Mrs. Branch
who organized the Ladies Memorial Association at Raleigh and became its
first president. For many years she remained the head of that
organization, and accomplished untold good.
The
veterans in the Soldiers’ Home were frequently cheered by her presence,
and loved her dearly. The Confederate Camp in this city is named for
her distinguished husband, and upon the last memorial day, when she was
unable to attend the exercises, a body of veterans visited her.
Mrs.
Branch had four children: Hon. William B. Branch, ex-Congressman, of
Washington, N.C.; Mrs. Robert H. Jones of Raleigh; Mrs. Armistead Jones,
of Raleigh; and Mrs. Kerr Craige, of Salisbury.
The
funeral was attended by a large gathering of veterans, relatives and
other friends, and many affecting incidents showed the esteem in which
the good woman was held. Drawn up in lines extending from the gateway .
. . were veterans from [the] L.O’B. Branch Camp and Soldiers’ Home.
Their heads were bared, not a few with armless sleeves and wooden limbs,
bearing eloquent testimony to their valor on bloody battlefields.
The
interment was in the city cemetery beside the grave of General Branch.
Among the floral pieces were handsome designs from the L.O’B. Branch
Camp of Veterans, the Ladies Memorial Association, and the Harry
Burgwyn Camp. The draped colors of the Camp were sent to the residence
to be placed above the honored remains until after the funeral. The flag
at the Soldiers’ Home has been half-masted since Mrs. Branch’s death.
(The Last Roll, Confederate Veteran, May 1904, pp. 234-235)
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