Joseph Thoburn (29 April 1825 – 19 October 1864) was an Irish-born

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officer and

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commander in the Union Army during the

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. An accomplished physician and soldier from the state of

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, he was killed in action in the

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at the

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. D ...

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

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. In 1826, the family moved south to the

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and settled on a farm near St. Clairsville, Ohio, in rural

Belmont County Belmont County is a county located in the eastern end of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 66,497. Its county seat is St. Clairsville, while its largest city is Martins Ferry. The county was crea ...

.Newton, Nichols, and Sprankle, page 253. 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

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. He subsequently attended Starling Medical College in

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. He relocated in 1849 to

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, 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

), where he formed a private medical practice that flourished in the late 1850s.Brant & Fuller, pages 580-81. He married Catherine "Kate" Ann Mitchell 13 December 1853, in

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. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.

Civil War service

After the bombardment of

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in April 1861, the following month Thoburn enlisted as the surgeon of the 1st Virginia Infantry, a three-months regiment under Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley. He accompanied his regiment in the

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, 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

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and fought in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the army of

Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) 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 General-i ...

. During the

Battle of Opequon The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confede ...

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."

Death and legacy

On 19 October 1864, Joseph Thoburn was killed in action during the

, a Union victory. His corps commander, Maj. Gen.

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. He is best known for commanding U.S. forces in the Geronimo Campaign, 1886 campaign that ...

, reported, "I am pained to report the death of Col. Joseph Thoburn, commanding First Division, and Captain 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."''Official Records'', Volume 43, pages 365-66. 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 with a military escort to Mt. Wood Cemetery with a public procession including city officers, council, medical faculty, military escort and many citizens. His widow died in 1886 and was buried beside him.

References

*Brant & Fuller, ''History of the Upper Ohio Valley'', Volume I, 1890. *Newton, J.H., G. C. Nichols, and A. G. Sprankle, ''History of the Pan-Handle, West Virginia'', 1879. *U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
: ''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

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