Thomas O. Osborn

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name= Thomas Ogden Osborn |birth_date= {{birth date|1832|8|11}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1904|3|27|1832|8|11}} |image= T O Osborn ACW.jpg |caption= |birth_place= [[Licking County, Ohio]], US |death_place= [[Washington, D.C.]], US |burial_place= [[Arlington National Cemetery]] |burial_label= Place of burial |allegiance= United States |branch= [[United States Army]]<br/>[[Union Army]] |service_years= 1861–1865 |rank= [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] <br/> [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Major general (United States)|major general]] |unit= [[Army of the James]] |commands= 1st Brigade, 1st Division, [[XXIV Corps (Union Army)|XXIV Corps]] |battles= [[American Civil War]] |relations= |signature = Signature of Thomas Ogden Osborn (1832–1904).png }}{{Infobox officeholder | office = 11th [[United States Ambassador to Argentina|United States Minister to Argentina]] | term_start = May 21, 1874 | term_end = c. October 15, 1885 | predecessor = [[Julius White]] | successor = [[Bayless W. Hanna]] }} '''Thomas Ogden Osborn''' (August 11, 1832 – March 27, 1904) was an [[United States of America|American]] lawyer, soldier, and diplomat who served as a [[General officer|general]] in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He was also the [[United States Ambassador to Argentina|U.S. Minister to Argentina]] from 1874 to 1885.

==Early life and career== Thomas Osborn was born near the rural village of [[Jersey, Ohio|Jersey]] in [[Licking County, Ohio]].<ref>[http://members.aol.com/ohiocwtc/trail2.html Ohio Civil War Trails 2] Retrieved 2008-10-21.</ref> In 1854 he graduated from [[Ohio University]] at [[Athens, Ohio|Athens]]. Osborn studied law in [[Crawfordsville, Indiana]], under future Civil War general [[Lew Wallace]] and moved to [[Chicago]], where he established a law practice in 1858.<ref>Warner, p. 351.</ref>

==Civil War service== After the start of the war, Osborn became the [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] of the [[39th Illinois Infantry]] on October 11, 1861, and was promoted to [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] the following year on January 1. He led the [[regiment]] in several campaigns and battles in the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Eastern Theater]].<ref name=Warner352>Warner, p. 352.</ref>

Osborn and his command saw action in the 1862 [[Valley Campaign]] against [[Confederate States Army|Confederate forces]] under [[Lt. General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Stonewall Jackson|Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson]], participating in the [[Battle of Port Republic]] on June 9. From July until September 1863, Osborn took part in Union operations against [[Charleston, South Carolina]], including attacks on [[Fort Wagner]] and [[Fort Sumter]].

In 1864, Osborn commanded the 1st [[Brigade]], 1st [[Division (military)|Division]] of the [[XXIV Corps (Union Army)|XXIV Corps]] of the [[Army of the James]].<ref>Osborn's brigade consisted of the 39th Illinois Infantry, [[62nd Ohio Infantry]], [[67th Ohio Infantry]], [[85th Pennsylvania Infantry]], and the [[199th Pennsylvania Infantry]] regiments.</ref> Osborn was badly wounded at the [[Battle of Drewry's Bluff]] on May 14, 1864, when a musket ball shattered his right elbow and lodged in his arm. He stayed in the hospital until September before being released for duty. In December, he had recovered enough to report for duty. However, he suffered from [[ankylosis]] of the injured elbow for the rest of his life.<ref>Welsh, p. 246.</ref>

[[File:T O Osborn staff ACW.jpg|right|thumb|Osborn (seated, left) and his staff during the American Civil War]] During the [[Siege of Petersburg]] in 1864 into 1865, Osborn led a brigade in the XXIV Corps. He was [[Brevet (military)|brevetted]] to the rank of [[Brigadier General (United States)|brigadier general]] on March 10, 1865.<ref name=Eicher411>Eicher, p. 411.</ref>

On April 2, 1865, Osborn's command was instrumental in the capture of Fort Gregg during the Union breakthrough, and he brevetted to [[Major general (United States)|major general]] to rank from that date.<ref name=Warner352/> He was promoted to brigadier general in the [[United States Volunteers]] on May 1, 1865,<ref name=Eicher726>Eicher, p. 726.</ref> and led the 1st Division of the XXIV Corps from May 2 – July 8. Osborn resigned from the Army on September 28.<ref name=Eicher411/>

==Postbellum career== Osborn returned to his legal practice in Chicago, engaged in several business ventures, and he also held several federally appointed positions. He was elected as the treasurer of [[Cook County, Illinois]], serving from 1867 until 1869.<ref name=Warner352/> He entered the [[U.S. Department of State|State Department]] in 1874 after receiving a presidential appointment as the U.S. Minister to Argentina. He served in [[Buenos Aires]] until 1885.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/VA/AR5.html The Political Graveyard] Retrieved 2008-10-21.</ref> He was significant involved in the negotiations to the [[Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina]].<ref>See [http://www.argentina-rree.com/6/6-089.htm Los esfuerzos de la diplomacia norteamericana para obtener la ratificación del Tratado de 1881]: :''"Los respectivos signatarios deberíamos expresar, en este acto y en el nombre de sus respectivos gobiernos, el profundo aprecio hacia la benévola asistencia con la que sus Excelencias, los Ministros de Estados Unidos acreditados en la República Argentina y en la de Chile, el mayor general Thomas O. Osborn y Mr. Thomas A. Osborn, contribuyeron a las negociaciones que llevaron al acuerdo definitivo y que ha sido firmado gracias a ellos"'''</ref>

In the spring of 1904, Osborn died in [[Washington, D.C.]], after suffering for ten hours from a massive [[cerebral hemorrhage]] that paralyzed him.

He is buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name=Eicher411/><ref>{{ cite web | url = https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZvc2Jvcm4SBnRob21hcw--/ | accessdate = February 11, 2025 | title = Burial detail: Osborn, Thomas O | website = ANC Explorer }}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|American Civil War|Politics}} *[[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==References== * Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher|Eicher, David J.]], ''Civil War High Commands'', Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. * Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, {{ISBN|0-393-04758-X}}. * U.S. War Department, [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm ''The War of the Rebellion'']: ''a Compilation of the [[Official Records of the American Civil War|Official Records]] of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. * Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Blue: The Lives of the Union Commanders'', Louisiana State University Press, 1964, {{ISBN|0-8071-0822-7}}. * Welsh, Jack D., ''Medical Histories of Union Generals'', Kent State University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-87338-649-4}}.

==External links== * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208215607/http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngo/osborn.htm |date=February 8, 2008 |title=Thomas O. Osborn photo gallery at generalsandbrevets.com }} Retrieved 2008-10-21

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Thomas O.}} [[Category:Union army generals]] [[Category:People of Illinois in the American Civil War]] [[Category:People from Licking County, Ohio]] [[Category:Lawyers from Chicago]] [[Category:Ohio University alumni]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Argentina]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]] [[Category:1832 births]] [[Category:1904 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century American diplomats]] [[Category:Cook County treasurers]]