Animated by these feelings, General Grimes, at the close of the war, returned to his farm and diligently applied himself to its cultivation, leading the quiet life of a country gentleman, his greatest pleasure being the society of his family and friends. Brave in war, he was gentle in peace; the bold soldier became the courteous gentleman, whose home was the seat of a refined and open-handed hospitality. With his ample means, he was ever ready to relieve the wants of the needy, and with his warm and generous heart he ever sympathized with the sufferings of the afflicted.
On the 14th day of August, 1880, while returning home from the town of Washington, N. C., this hero of an hundred battles was shot from the roadside by a concealed assassin and almost instantly killed. I cannot here trust myself to speak of the circumstances connected with his foul assassination—which will ever excite the fiercest indignation in every manly heart—but be it said to the everlasting disgrace of the administration of justice in North Carolina, his assassin escaped punishment!
In reviewing the military record of General Grimes, it seems almost incredible that any one, without the slightest previous military experience or training, should have attained his high rank or rendered such efficient services. Not only did he win the love and admiration of his soldiers, but the confidence and esteem of his superior officers. While a strict disciplinarian, he was remarkably careful of the comfort of his troops, and they never endured any hardships or dangers in which he did not willingly share. Indeed I have often known him to peril his own life in order to protect his men.
In recommending his promotion for Brigadier-General, Generals Ramseur and Daniel were very complimentary, saying that, "In battle Colonel Grimes is conspicuous for skill and gallantry. As a disciplinarian, Colonel Grimes has few superiors. He is ever zealous in the performance of military duty, and in providing for and taking care of his men."
Major-General Rodes endorsed this recommendation as follows: "I take pleasure in endorsing Colonel Grimes' claims to promotion. He has served in this division since its formation at Yorktown, and shown himself under all circumstances to be a good and reliable officer. He is a thorough gentleman, brave to a fault, invaluable in an action, and his habits are worthy of imitation."
In March, 1863, General D. H. Hill urged his promotion, saying: "Colonel Bryan Grimes entered the service as Major of the Fourth North Carolina Regiment, and for more than a year had the admirable training of the lamented General G. B. Anderson, who was Colonel of that regiment. Colonel Grimes led the Fourth with most distinguished gallantry at Seven Pines, and in all the subsequent battles of the year 1862 except Sharpsburg (when he was ill). He has been in many pitched battles, and has behaved most gallantly in them all. I think that he has seen more service than any Colonel from North Carolina. His gallantry, ripe experience, admirable training, intelligence and moral worth constitute strong claims for promotion."
With such testimonials from such Generals as Ramseur, Daniel, Rodes, and D. H. Hill, the friends of General Grimes may well feel proud of his reputation as a soldier, and nothing that I might say could add to it. No high-sounding words of praise are needed to perpetuate his memory. His heroic deeds and illustrious achievements are themselves sufficient, and will so brightly illumine the pages of North Carolina's history that words of eulogy would be dimmed by their brilliancy. And yet I cannot close without paying a slight tribute to one whom I loved while living, and whose memory I now so fondly cherish. It was my privilege, though a beardless boy, to have enjoyed the friendship of General Grimes and to have been with him on occasions that indeed "tried men's souls," and to-day it affords me peculiar pleasure and pride to declare that in devotion to every duty, in faithfulness to every trust, in sincerity of purpose, in dauntless courage, in unselfish patriotism—in everything that constitutes a noble, generous, true man—North Carolina has never honored a son superior to Bryan Grimes.
General Grimes was one of those men of iron nerve whom the God of battle raises up wherever a noble cause is to be defended. He was a strong man, loved truth, hated shams, and learned war to defend his country. His life is well told by his courier, H. A. London, Esq., in his address delivered May 10, 1886, and will be read with especial interest, not only by his old soldiers, but by all who seek to set before the minds of youth exemplars of valor. It is sad that he, who bore a charmed life in the war, was reserved by fate for the hand of an assassin. His account of the surrender at Appomattox is the simple, unvarnished statement of an eye-witness and participant of those stirring scenes, who told the truth as he saw it and believed it, and whose strong character you can feel through his words.