Civil War Union Army Officer. Colonel of the 1st West Virginia Infantry

Joseph Thoburn was born in Ireland; his family moved to a farm near St. Clairsville when he was an infant. As a young man, Thoburn reportedly had a passion for reading and taught school for a few years before becoming a medical student under Dr. Ephraim Gaston, of Morristown, Ohio. He then attended medical school in Columbus. In 1849 he practiced medicine briefly in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and then became an assistant to the chief physician at the Ohio Lunatic Asylum in Columbus.
A strong supporter of the Union, when the Civil War broke out he enlisted as the surgeon of the first unit formed in Wheeling – the 1st Virginia Infantry – under Colonel Benjamin Franklin Kelley. At the time, most people thought the war would be over in three months, so that was the term of his initial enlistment.
The 1st Virginia was tasked with guarding the important B&O rail lines, and soon found themselves in the little town of Philippi. It was there that the first land battle of the war was fought. Col. Kelley was badly wounded, so Thoburn tended his wounds until he could be brought back to Wheeling to recover.
When the first three months of the war ended, the 1st Virginia was re-organized in August of 1861, and Thoburn was commissioned as the colonel while Kelley recuperated from his wounds.
During 1862 and 1863 Col. Thoburn led the command in many small battles and engagements in what became known later as West Virginia and also in the Shenandoah Valley. In 1864 he assumed command of a division in the 8th Army Corps and fought in the Valley Campaigns under General Philip Sheridan.
The heaviest action the unit saw came on Sept 19, 1864 during the Battle of Opequon, sometimes called Third Winchester. Union forces had to enter the area through a narrow canyon road – slowing down their approach and delaying attack. Unfortunately, this allowed the Confederates to strengthen their lines. By noon, Sheridan ordered a frontal attack.
At about 3:00 in the afternoon, the armies were fully engaged. After about 30 minutes, the Confederate line gave way, and in an instant the Union men were over their works and after them with yells and shouts of victory. Some historians state that that battle was the most important conflict in the Shenandoah Campaign. But the cost was great, with one Union general killed and three more seriously wounded in addition to the loss of over 5000 Union troops. Afterwards 14 enlisted men and one officer received the Medal of Honor for their actions that day.
Thoburn's luck ran out a month later, on October 19, 1864 at the Battle of Cedar Creek when he was mortally wounded. His remains were returned to Wheeling, and there was a large public funeral in his honor. The funeral procession went from downtown Wheeling to Mt. Wood Cemetery, with city officials, medical faculty, military escort, and a large gathering of others.
Thoburn's wife Kate received a widow's pension and raised their three young children – Joseph, May, and Jennie. She died in 1886 and is buried next to her husband.