that month he accepted the office of state quartermaster general, but resigned it for service in the field. In September he was elected colonel of the 33rd North Carolina. He was appointed brigadier general in January 1862. After the Battle of New Bern, his brigade was attached to A.P. Hill's Division of Stonewall Jackson's Corps. He was the senior brigadier general in Hill's division. Branch's brigade fought at the Battle of Hanover Courthouse, the Seven Days Battles, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Chantilly, and Harper's Ferry Antietam On September 17, 1862, he led his troops on a rapid march from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburg, Maryland where the Battle of Antietam was raging. Branch arrived on the field around 2:30 PM, in time to help stop the Union advance, thus saving General Robert E. Lee's right flank from a crushing defeat. Soon after this victory, Branch stood talking with fellow brigadier generals Maxcy Gregg, Dorsey Pender, James J. Archer, along with Hill and General Lee when a Federal sharpshooter, seeing the group, fired a shot that hit him in the right cheek and exited behind his left ear, killing him instantly. The bullet also wounded General Gregg in the thigh. Branch fell dead into the arms of a staff officer. Dates of Rank Private, May 1, 1861 Colonel, September 1, 1861 Brigadier General, January 16, 1862 Legacy A memorial cannon now stands at the location where Branch was killed. Five other memorial cannons are placed throughout the Antietam Battlefield marking the locations other commanders lost their lives. Branch is buried at the Old City Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina. Author Armistead Maupin is Branch's great-great-grandson. See also List of American Civil War generals (Confederate) Notes References Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. . Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . Web biography from And Then A.P. Hill Came Up External links Branch, Lawrence O'Bryan, Congressional Intervention in Regard to Slavery in the Territories. Letter of Lawrence O'B. Branch to His Constituents, 1860 Transcript of a letter from Branch's daughter reporting his death to his sister 1820 births 1862 deaths Confederate States Army brigadier generals Burials at City Cemetery (Raleigh, North Carolina) People of North Carolina