Romeyn B. Ayres - Postbellum

Postbellum

After the war, Ayres commanded a division in the Provisional Corps, and then commanded the District of the Shenandoah Valley until April 30, 1866, when he was mustered out of the volunteer service. As part of the general reduction of ranks that was typical following many American wars, Ayres returned to the regular army with the rank of lieutenant colonel and he performed mostly garrison duty in a number of posts in the South, including Little Rock, Arkansas, Jackson Barracks, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Key West, Florida. In 1879 he was promoted to colonel of the 2nd U.S. Artillery.

Ayres died in Fort Hamilton, New York, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, alongside his mother-in-law, Juliet Opie Hopkins.