Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/383

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BRAGDON
BRAGG
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law, winning verdicts from judges and jurors alike in great patent cases, like that of Goodyear v. Day ; cases involving questions of medical juris- prudence, like the Allaire and Parish will cases, and the moral insanity plea in the case of the forger Huntington or the homicide Cole ; divorce cases, like that of Mrs. Edwin Forrest, and also in civil cases of all sorts. But his special power was seen to the best advantage in criminal cases, where he usually undertook the defence. At one time he successfully defended four clients charged with murder in a single week, and all without fee or reward. In 1843 he was appointed district attorney of New York during the temporary ab- sence of Matthew C. Patterson, and two years later he became corporation attorney for the city. In 1859 he was selected by Daniel E. Sickles to be one of the counsel in his trial for the assassination of Philip Barton Key, and made the opening ad- dress for the defence to the jury, which was one of his most notable efforts as a criminal lawyer. Mr. Brady was retained as counsel, on one side or the other, in many of the important crijninal and civil cases of his time. His success as an advocate was due to a clear statement of the case and a skilful and courteous cross-examination of wit- nesses. His arguments were put with such tact, his statements of facts so lucid and candid, and his appeals were so eloquent and impressive, that he almost invariably carried judge and jury with him. It has been said that he never lost a case in which he was before a jury for more than a week ; in that time they saw everything through his eyes. He was naturally a political leader, and was fre- quently urged to accept office, but invariably re- fused unless the place was in the line of his pro- fession. Prior to the civil war he was an ultra state-rights man, and supported Breckinridge in the canvass of 1860, in which year he was candi- date for governor on the " hard-shell " or pro- slavery democratic ticket. During Mr. Lincoln's administrations he supported the war measures generally and made speeches on national questions, some of which produced a strong impression. — His brother, John Riker, b. in Xew York in 1832; d. there, 16 March, 1891. He studied law, was ad- mitted to the bar in 1844, practising first in his father's office and later in partnership with his brother, .lames T. In 1856 he was elected a justice of the New York court of common pleas, and in 1869 to the bench of the Supreme Court of the state, being unanimously reelected in 1877, both parties nominating him. For thirty-five years he was on the bench continuously. Judge Brady was gifted like his brother with eloquence" and wit, and for a score of years was perhaps the most popular after-dinn?r speaker in the state. He administered the oatli of the presidential office to Vice-President Arthur in New York.


BRAGDON, Edmund Erastus Eastman, educator, b. in Acton, Me., 8 Dec, 1813 ; d. in Lima, N. Y., 20 March, 1862. He was graduated at Wesleyan university in 1841, and taught in the Mexicoville academy until 1843, when he became principal of Fulton academy. During the same year he joined the Black river conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was stationed at Wolcott, N. Y. He became principal of the Mexicoville academy in 1846, and was stationed at Syracuse, N. Y., during 1847. From 1848 till 1852 he was principal of Falley seminary, and in 1853 he joined the New York conference and was stationed at the Vestry street church in New York. Later in the same year he accepted the professorship of ancient languages in Ohio university, Athens, Ohio, and in 1854 the chair of Latin in Indiana university. From 1858 until his death he was professor of ancient languages in Genesee college, Lima, N. Y.


BRAGG, Braxton, soldier, b. in Warren co., N. C., 33 March, 1817; d. in Galveston, Texas, 27 Sept., 1876. He was graduated at the U. S. military acad- emy in 1837, standing 5th in a class of fifty. Among his classmates were Gens. Benham, Townsend, Sedgwick, and Hooker on the national side, and Early and Pemberton on the confederate side. He was appointed lieutenant of artillery, and served mainly in Florida until 1843. during the war with the Seminoles ; from 1843 till 1845 he was stationed at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston harbor, and just before the war with Mexico was ordered to Texas. In May, 1846, he was made captain by brevet for gallant conduct in the defence of Fort Brown, Texas, and in June was promoted captain of artil- lery. He was present at the battle of Monterey, 21-23 Sept., and was brevetted major for gallant conduct there. In 1847 he was bre- vetted lieutenant- colonel for gal- lantry at the bat- tle of Buena Vis- ta. From 1848 till 1855 he was en- gaged in frontier service at Jef- ferson Barracks, Mo., Fort Gib- son, and Washita. In March, 1855, he was appointed major of caval- ry, but declined andreceived leave of absence. In

January, 1856, he

resigned his commission and retired to his plantation at Thibodeaux, La. In 1859-'61 he was commissioner of the board of public works of the state of Louisiana. When the civil war began he was appointed brigadier-general in the confederate army in 1861, and placed in command at Pensacola, Fla. In February, 1862, he was promoted major-general and ordered to join the army of the Mississippi. He took part in the battle of Shiloh, 6-7 April, and was promoted general in place of A. S. John- ston, killed. After the evacuation of Corinth he succeeded Gen. Beauregard in command of the de- partment. In August he led a formidable force, 45,000 strong, into Kentucky, but, after the battle of Perryville, 8 Oct., he retreated, carrying with him a vast quantity of supplies. He was removed from his command and placed under arrest, but was soon restored, and resumed command of the force opposed to the national army under Rose- crans. He was worsted by Roseerans in the pro- tracted contest of Stone river or Murfreesboro, 31 Dec, 1862, and 2 Jan., 1863; again encountered and defeated him at Chickamauga, 19 and 20 Sept., 1863 ; but was decisively defeated by Gen. Grant at Chattanooga, 23-25 Nov. About 2 Dec. he was relieved from command and called to Rich- mond, where for a time he acted as military ad- viser to Mr. Davis, with whom he was a favorite. In the autumn of 1864 he led a small force from North Carolina to Georgia to operate against Sher- man, but without success. After the war he be- came chief engineer for the state of Alabama, and superintended the improvements in Mobile bay,