Branch studied law but never practiced. In 1867 he took charge of his landed estate near Washington, Beaufort County, N.C., and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895) and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress. He again engaged in agricultural pursuits on his estate. In 1896 Branch became a member of the State house of representatives. He died in Washington, N.C., November 18, 1910; interment in Oakdale Cemetery.