John Coburn

John Coburn was born October 17, 1825, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1849, and began to practice law in Indianapolis. In 1850, he was elected to the State House of Representatives. He served as judge of the court of common pleas from 1859 to 1861 when he resigned to enter the Union Army. On September 16, 1861, he became colonel of the 33rd Indiana Infantry. In November 1861, following the battle of Wild Cat, nearly five hundred of Colonel Coburn’s troops became ill, and Coburn himself nearly lost his life to typhoid fever. Early in the Civil War, he commanded his regiment in the capture of Cumberland Gap and then held various brigade commands, usually in the rear areas. In the Atlanta Campaign, he led a brigade in the 20th Corps until he was mustered out of service on September 20, 1864. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier general, United States Volunteers, “for gallant and meritorious services during the war.” Coburn was appointed as the first secretary of the Territory of Montana in March 1865, but resigned at once. In October 1865, he was elected judge of the fifth judicial circuit of Indiana and resigned that position in July 1866. He was elected as a Republican to Congress serving four terms from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1875. He was unsuccessful in his bid for a fifth term in 1874. On February 19, 1884, Smith was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Montana and served until December 1885. John Coburn returned to Indianapolis and resumed practicing law. He died January 28, 1908, in Indianapolis.

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