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On the night of May 22, 1861, Pvt. Thornsberry Bailey Brown and Lt. Daniel Wilson, members of Capt. George R. Latham's Grafton Guards, were returning to Grafton from Pruntytown. Along the Northwestern Turnpike they encountered three Letcher Guards who commanded Brown and Wilson to halt.

Brown pulled his pistol and shot, hitting Daniel W.S. Knight on the ear. Knight returned fire, which instantly killed Brown. Thornsberry Bailey Brown was the first Union soldier killed by a Confederate soldier. The next day, Confederate troops returned Brown's body to Captain Latham's men. Brown is buried in the Grafton National Cemetery.