Joseph Thoburn
Encyclopedia
Joseph Thoburn was born in the district of Mallusk north of Belfast
, County Antrim
, to be found in the modern-day borough of Newtownabbey
, Northern Ireland
, UK. He went on to be a physician and soldier from the state of West Virginia
who served as an officer and brigade
commander in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. He was killed in action in the Shenandoah Valley
at the Battle of Cedar Creek
.
. In 1826, the family moved south to the United States
and settled on a farm near St. Clairsville, Ohio
, in rural Belmont County
. He was educated at the local school, and developed a love for books at an early age. As a young man, he taught school for several years before becoming a medical student, studying under Dr. Ephraim Gaston, of Morristown, Ohio
. He subsequently attended Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio
. He relocated in 1849 to Brownsville, Pennsylvania
, where he briefly partnered in a medical practice before resigning to accept an appointment in Columbus at the Ohio Lunatic Asylum as an assistant to the chief physician.
Because of political influences, he was displaced in 1853 and moved to Wheeling, Virginia
(now West Virginia
), where he formed a private medical practice that flourished in the late 1850s. He married Catherine "Kate" Ann Mitchell December 13, 1853, in Martins Ferry, Ohio
. The couple would have three children, a son and two daughters.
in Charleston Harbor
in April 1861, the following month Thoburn enlisted as the surgeon of the 1st Virginia Infantry
, a three-months regiment under Col. Benjamin F. Kelley. He accompanied his regiment in the Battle of Philippi, where his patients included a wounded Colonel Kelley.
In August 1861, the regiment was mustered out of service. Most of the men reenlisted in the reorganized 1st Virginia Infantry
, a three-years regiment. With Kelley still out with his wound, Thoburn was commissioned as the colonel of the regiment. He led the command in numerous small battles and engagements in what became West Virginia and also in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862 and 1863. The following year, he assumed command of a division
in the VIII Corps
and fought in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
in the army of Philip Sheridan
.
During the Battle of Opequon
or Third Winchester, as the XIX Corps
was reorganizing its lines, Thoburn's division came up from reserve and took position at the edge of a woods. Sheridan soon arrived and directed Thoburn to move forward as soon as the other division of the Eighth Corps was ready. About 3 p.m. "a mighty battle yell," from the other side of Red Bud Run announced the arrival of those troops. The Union lines advanced, and, as one participant recalled, "For thirty minutes the battle that ensued was perfectly terrific, but then the forces in our front gave way, and in an instant we were over their works, and after them with yells and shouts of victory."
On October 19, 1864, Joseph Thoburn was killed in action during the Battle of Cedar Creek. His corps commander, Maj. Gen.
George Crook
, reported, "I am pained to report the death of Col. Joseph Thoburn, commanding First Division, and Capt. Philip G. Bier, assistant adjutant-general on my staff. Both fell mortally wounded while rallying the men. Brave, efficient, and ever conspicuous for their gallantry on the field of battle, in them the country sustained a loss not easily repaired."
A biographer later wrote, "Dr. Thoburn was greatly beloved by his brother officers and men, as a man full of kindness and benevolence, and of undoubted bravery and patriotism. As a physician, he possessed very clever attainments, with a high sense of professional honor."
Thoburn's body was taken to Wheeling for a large public funeral. It was taken to Mt. Wood Cemetery as part of a public procession, composed of city officers, council, medical faculty, military escort, and a large gathering of citizens. His widow died in 1886 and was buried beside him.
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, to be found in the modern-day borough of Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, UK. He went on to be a physician and soldier from the state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
who served as an officer and brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
commander in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He was killed in action in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
at the Battle of Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
.
Early life and career
Joseph Thoburn was the son of Matthew and Jane Lyle (Crawford) Thoburn. He was born in 1825, in County Antrim in northern Ireland. That autumn, his father emigrated to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1826, the family moved south to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled on a farm near St. Clairsville, Ohio
St. Clairsville, Ohio
St. Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio in the United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,057 at the 2000 census. This county seat of Belmont County has been nicknamed "Paradise on the Hill." St. Clairsville was named after...
, in rural Belmont County
Belmont County, Ohio
Belmont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 70,400. Its county seat is St. Clairsville...
. He was educated at the local school, and developed a love for books at an early age. As a young man, he taught school for several years before becoming a medical student, studying under Dr. Ephraim Gaston, of Morristown, Ohio
Morristown, Ohio
Morristown is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 299 at the 2000 census.-History:The community's name has also been spelled "Morris Town" in the past....
. He subsequently attended Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. He relocated in 1849 to Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
, where he briefly partnered in a medical practice before resigning to accept an appointment in Columbus at the Ohio Lunatic Asylum as an assistant to the chief physician.
Because of political influences, he was displaced in 1853 and moved to Wheeling, Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(now West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
), where he formed a private medical practice that flourished in the late 1850s. He married Catherine "Kate" Ann Mitchell December 13, 1853, in Martins Ferry, Ohio
Martins Ferry, Ohio
During the census of 2000, there were 7,226 people, 3,202 households, and 1,959 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,345.1 people per square mile . There were 3,680 housing units at an average density of 1,703.6 per square mile...
. The couple would have three children, a son and two daughters.
Civil War service
After the bombardment of Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in Charleston Harbor
Charleston Harbor
The Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Island, shelter the entrance...
in April 1861, the following month Thoburn enlisted as the surgeon of the 1st Virginia Infantry
1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Month)
The 1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. During its period of service, the regiment was known as the 1st Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment.-Service:...
, a three-months regiment under Col. Benjamin F. Kelley. He accompanied his regiment in the Battle of Philippi, where his patients included a wounded Colonel Kelley.
In August 1861, the regiment was mustered out of service. Most of the men reenlisted in the reorganized 1st Virginia Infantry
1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Year)
The 1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service record:...
, a three-years regiment. With Kelley still out with his wound, Thoburn was commissioned as the colonel of the regiment. He led the command in numerous small battles and engagements in what became West Virginia and also in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862 and 1863. The following year, he assumed command of a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
in the VIII Corps
VIII Corps (ACW)
The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.- Creation and early service :The corps was initially created out of various Union commands as part of the Middle Department in the Shenandoah Valley on July 12, 1862, and was placed under the command of Major General John...
and fought in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
in the army of Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
.
During the Battle of Opequon
Battle of Opequon
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
or Third Winchester, as the XIX Corps
XIX Corps (ACW)
XIX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley....
was reorganizing its lines, Thoburn's division came up from reserve and took position at the edge of a woods. Sheridan soon arrived and directed Thoburn to move forward as soon as the other division of the Eighth Corps was ready. About 3 p.m. "a mighty battle yell," from the other side of Red Bud Run announced the arrival of those troops. The Union lines advanced, and, as one participant recalled, "For thirty minutes the battle that ensued was perfectly terrific, but then the forces in our front gave way, and in an instant we were over their works, and after them with yells and shouts of victory."
On October 19, 1864, Joseph Thoburn was killed in action during the Battle of Cedar Creek. His corps commander, Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, reported, "I am pained to report the death of Col. Joseph Thoburn, commanding First Division, and Capt. Philip G. Bier, assistant adjutant-general on my staff. Both fell mortally wounded while rallying the men. Brave, efficient, and ever conspicuous for their gallantry on the field of battle, in them the country sustained a loss not easily repaired."
A biographer later wrote, "Dr. Thoburn was greatly beloved by his brother officers and men, as a man full of kindness and benevolence, and of undoubted bravery and patriotism. As a physician, he possessed very clever attainments, with a high sense of professional honor."
Thoburn's body was taken to Wheeling for a large public funeral. It was taken to Mt. Wood Cemetery as part of a public procession, composed of city officers, council, medical faculty, military escort, and a large gathering of citizens. His widow died in 1886 and was buried beside him.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals