Beta Theta Pi at Wabash College | John Coburn Biography

John Coburn, Wabash 1846
Founder of Tau Chapter

John Coburn, Wabash Class of 1846, was the founder of Tau Chapter of Beta Theta Pi. He did so bringing official greetings from Oxford, Ohio where Beta's Alpha Chapter had been founded a mere seven years before. His friend, Oliver P. Morton, later Indiana's Civil War governor, was then a Beta at Miami and wished to see Beta Theta Pi flourish in the area. Whether he was selected due to friendship or because he was the top graduating student at Wabash, Coburn lost little time in establishing a solid fraternity.

Coburn was born in Indianapolis on October 27, 1825. He graduated from Wabash in 1846 and was a lawyer, judge and state legislator prior to the Civil War.

On September 16, 1861, he was appointed the first colonel of the 33rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The following month the regiment reported to George Thomas at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, and on October 21, defeated a small Confederate force in an engagement at Camp Wildcat, Kentucky. The 33rd remained in Kentucky and during a 60-day period in the winter of 1861-62, 62 men in the 33rd Indiana died due to disease and 511 were sick and hospitalized. (The maximum strength of a new regiment was approximately one thousand.) In June the 33rd took part in the skirmishes at Cumberland Gap with Colonel Coburn moving up to command a brigade while officially the regimental commander. The 33rd was active as a garrison force in East Kentucky during most of 1862 and was not engaged in a major military engagement until March 1863 at Thompson's Station, Tennessee. In this encounter near Franklin, the 33rd suffered an approximate loss of about 100 killed and wounded and 400 captured, including Colonel Coburn. By coincidence, on that same day Coburn's name was being presented in the U.S. Senate for confirmation to the rank of brigadier general. Coburn, a prisoner of the Confederate army, was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Upon his exchange, Coburn returned to active service as a brigade commander and in 1864 served (as did the 33rd) in nine battles in William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign. As brevet Brigadier General, he was the ranking officer present who accepted the surrender of Atlanta. On September 20, 1864, after three years of service, Coburn, who had not re-enlisted was mustered out.

After the War he was elected to the U.S. Congress for four consecutive terms,1867-75. His accomplishments in Congress included the formulation of a bill to provide military headstones for all Union soldiers. He also urged Congress to actively locate and preserve the documents which culminated in the publication of the 128-volume Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, War of the Rebellion.Coburn was U.S. District Judge in the Montana Territory before returning to practice law in Indianapolis. He continued the practice of law in Indianapolis, except for terms as U.S. Commissioner at Hot Springs, Arkansas and as Judge of the Supreme Court of Montana.

Activities in Indianapolis included work on the U.S. Post Office building, a term as a school commissioner, a founder of the Indiana Soldiers' Orphans' Home, and in work with the Indiana Historical Society in which his father, Henry P. Coburn, and his father-in-law, Charles H. Test, were early proponents. He was also the orator at the cornerstone-laying of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

Coburn died 28 January 1908 and is buried under a large obelisk monument at Crown Hill Cemetery, not far from the graves of Beta brother Governor Oliver Morton and fellow war comrade President Harrison.

This brief description is largely taken from the book Coburn's Brigade, by Frank J. Welcher and Larry G. Liggett as well as a major website managed by Liggett and his son. The book may be ordered at amazon.com.