After his first combat action at the First Battle of Manassas in Virginia on July 21, Bryan Grimes (born November 2, 1828 in Pitt County, North Carolina) was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 1, 1862, fighting at the Battle of Seven Pines, and finally on June 19, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of general and given command of the 4th North Carolina Infantry.
On June 19, 1862, Grimes was promoted to the rank of colonel and given command of the 4th North Carolina Infantry, now part of the Army of Northern Virginia. 
