Thomas Grosvenor Corbin (13 August 1820 – December 17, 1901) was a career

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descended from the

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who remained loyal to the Union during the American Civil War. During the war, he served as the commandant of midshipmen at the

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and commanded a ship in the

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of southern ports. Although he never married, he had many relatives, including military members, across the United States, so his relation to Air Force Major General Thomas Goldsborough Corbin (1917–1992) is unclear.

Early and family life

Corbin was born August 13, 1820, at Reeds plantation in

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the historic town of Port Royal. The Caroline county se ...

, the youngest of six sons and two daughters of the former Ann Munford Beverley (1778–1830) and her planter husband Francis Corbin (1760–1795). Both sides of his family were of the

. His father's family could trace their descent to Henry Corbyn, who with his descendants (many of whom had served in the House of Burgesses and Virginia Governor's Council) patented vast acreage on the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

watershed. His mother's family was perhaps even more distinguished and reliant on enslaved labor. Her father Robert Beverley (1740–1800) represented Essex County for one term in the Virginia House of Delegates. His wife, Anna Munford Beverley, was the daughter of burgess Robert Beverley and his wife, Maria Carter, daughter of powerful planter Landon Carter, and granddaughter of "King" Carter. Corbin's father, who was studying in England during the American Revolutionary War, returned to Middlesex County and was elected to represent that county in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and in the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a Convention (meeting), convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, whic ...

, but lost three attempts to be elected to the

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- perhaps due to his uncles' Loyalist connections during the American Revolutionary War. Around 1795, his father moved to Caroline County where he operated "Reeds" plantation, and in December of that year married Corbin's mother. The plantation grew to 3700 acres and included 70 enslaved persons, although his father also wrote to his friend

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of his misgivings concerning slavery and desire to move to a New England state without it. However, Corbin's father died when he was about a year old. His eldest brother, Robert Beverley Corbin (died 1868), inherited the Reeds plantation and probably began to raise him, marrying his first wife, a woman from Philadelphia, in 1822. However, she died in childbirth and the boy was raised by his maternal grandparents after their father's remarriage and took their surname, Dr. Francis Sims. Robert B. Corbin also repeated part of their father's career by representing Caroline County in the Virginia House of Delegates, and serving as colonel of the county militia. The second eldest brother, Francis Porteus Corbin (1801–1876) married a Philadelphia heiress and died in Paris, France, although their son, Richard Washington Corbin after education in England, returned to Virginia to serve on the staff of CSA General Fields. John Sawbridge Corbin (d. 1883) married Mary Blackwell and lived at "The Glimpse" in Hanover County. Their sister Anna Page Corbin (1803–1885) married Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1803–1889) of Culpepper, Virginia. The youngest daughter, Jane Virginia Corbin (1815–1904), and brothers William Lygon Corbin (died 1883) and Washington Shirley Corbin (died 1877) likewise never married. Their cousin Major Richard Corbin of Laneville had been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates before Corbin's birth and raised an artillery company and served with distinction in the War of 1812, as would Major Gawin Lane Corbin of King's Creek plantation in York County.

Military career

Appointed from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on May 15, 1838, Corbin was attached to the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

'' Brandywine'' with the Mediterranean Squadron from 1838 to 1842. Promoted to

passed midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...

on May 20, 1844, Corbin served with the

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from 1844 to 1845. He was with the frigate '' Columbia'' with the

Brazil Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When t ...

from 1845 to 1846 and then returned to the U.S. Coast Survey from 1847 to 1850. Corbin was with the

Sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

'' St. Mary's'' of the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron of the United States Navy, established c. 1821 and disbanded in 1907, was a naval squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Developing from a small force protecting United States commerc ...

from 1850 to 1852. Corbin was promoted to

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on June 10, 1852, and served aboard the steamer ''

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'' from 1852 to 1853. He conducted a survey of the

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from 1853 to 1855, then was stationed at the

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, from 1855 to 1856 and on the

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from 1857 to 1858. Corbin subsequently served as Executive Officer of the steam-

'' Wabash'' with the Mediterranean Squadron from 1858 to 1859. In 1860 he was on

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and lived in a boarding house in Philadelphia. He returned to the ''Wabash'' in 1861, which had been reassigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron after the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Corbin participated in the capture of Fort Beauregard in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

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outside

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, and

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

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in April 1861. Corbin served aboard the ''Wabash'' until 1863. Corbin was promoted to

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on July 16, 1862. He served as Commandant of Midshipmen at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1863. He commanded the steamer from 1864 to 1865 and was

fleet captain Fleet captain (US) is a historic military title that was bestowed upon a naval officer who served as chief of staff to a flag officer. In the UK, a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more shi ...

of the West India Squadron enforcing the

from 1865 to 1866. Following the war, with a commission as captain, he sailed his last cruise on the flagship Guierriere, of the South Atlantic squadron, in 1868. He spent his final years in service at the ordinance depot in Philadelphia. Commodore Corbin retired in January 1874, having served for 21 at sea and 7 years on land.

Death and legacy

Corbin died at his nephew's house in Philadelphia on December 17, 1901, and his remains were returned to Virginia for burial at Hollywood cemetery in

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. He died without a will, and with a substantial estate of stocks and bonds worth over $763,000. Complications ensued when the state of Alabama filed documents affecting the share of one of his heirs at law, Francis Corbin Randolph, who had been an elected Alabama probate judge who disappeared, possibly to become a soldier of fortune in a South American conflict between Columbia and Venezuela, whereupon the accounts of monies for liquor licenses were audited and $25,000 seemingly embezzled."Life Story Told in a Law Suits Rivals Fiction" Philadelphia Inquirer, August 19, 1902 p. 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbin, Thomas 1820 births 1901 deaths United States Navy officers People from Alabama People from Middlesex County, Virginia United States Naval Academy faculty