In recognition of his service, in 1866, he was nominated and confirmed for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865.

[2] He was educated at Burlington College, later named St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy and graduated in 1860, just five months before Abraham Lincoln was elected as President.

Gen. George W. Taylor during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, where he contracted typhoid and was confined to a hospital ship shortly after the Battle of Malvern Hill.

[3] The VI Corps (ACW) was mostly held in reserve during the battle, though Edward later wrote that his men were convinced they could have finished Lee's army if properly employed.

He led his regiment, nicknamed "The Yahoos", as it participated in his brigade's assault on Confederate positions at Salem Church during the May 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.

[9] In February 1874, Grubb was elected into the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (an independent Company of the PA National Guard that had once been George Washington's personal bodyguard during the American Revolution).

This period saw many critical reforms of the National Guard structure that helped ensure an effective mobilization and deployment for World War One.

His main contribution came during the 1881 centennial celebration of the Siege of Yorktown, where he commanded the New Jersey regiment that won a ceremonial silver cup for being the best drilled unit.

Upon his return, he proposed to his longtime friend, Harriet Hubbard Ayer, the noted woman's rights activist who made a fortune manufacturing beauty creams.

Abbett was still declared the winner even though his entire statewide margin came from Hudson, which sent a large delegation to the inauguration to remind the new Governor of that fact.

"[13] Also that year, Benjamin Harrison had been inaugurated as president and selected a friend of Grubb, James G. Blaine, as secretary of state.

Blaine arranged for Grubb to be one of Harrison's seven appointees to the 1890 Board of Visitors to West Point Military Academy; he was elected vice president.

[2] Their son, Edward Burd Grubb III was the President of the New York Curb Exchange during the critical period after the creation of the SEC.

During the First World War, Violet chaired the British Emergency Aid Committee in Philadelphia and later retired to Maryland to live with her daughter.