Executions at the Johnson's Island Civil War Military Prison

Blindfolded, bound, and shackled, Captain William F. Corbin and his comrade Thomas Jefferson McGraw sat on a pair of rough coffins at the shoreline not far from the prison stockade on Johnson’s Island located on Lake Erie. Seconds later the signal came and the firing squad took aim. Shots rang out and the two Confederate officers fell back into their coffins. Death came instantaneously.

                                                           

Captain William F. Corbin 
from:  A Short History of the Soldier-Life, Capture and Death of William Francis Corbin: Captain Fourth Kentucky Cavalry: CSA  
by J. C. DeMoss, 1897

The fate of Corbin and McGraw was dictated by unique circumstances. Of the thousands of Confederate prisoners incarcerated on Johnson’s Island during the course of the Civil War, they alone were executed under Order #38.

Johnson's Island on Lake Erie

A month earlier, Corbin, an officer in the 4^th Kentucky Cavalry, was recruiting for the Confederacy in his home state when he and his comrade were captured by Union soldiers in Pendleton County.  Acquaintances assured the men they would be treated as prisoners of war. But two weeks later, Corbin and McGraw found themselves before a hastily convened military tribunal in Cincinnati. They had been charged with recruiting for the Confederacy behind Union lines and carrying mail and information to persons in arms against the United States government.

Drawing  of the Military Prison at Johnson's Island
Hayes Presidential Library, Roger Long Collection

The charges originated with Order #38 issued four days after their capture by General Ambrose Burnside, Commander of the Ohio.  In short, the order stated, “persons found within our lines committing acts for the benefit of enemies of our country will be tried as spies or traitors and, if convicted, will suffer death.”

After taking testimony from the Union soldiers who captured the pair, a nine-member commission delivered a verdict of guilty. Corbin and McGraw were ordered to Johnson’s Island, where they were to be executed between the hours of noon and 3 o’clock P.M. on May 15, 1863.

When Melissa Corbin learned of her brother’s fate, she hurried to Cincinnati and met with old family friends. Despite their strong support for the Union, they sympathized with the well-respected Corbin family. They accompanied the desperate sister to Burnside’s headquarters. After listening to her pleas, Burnside replied that he was determined to make an example of her brother and McGraw. Only President Lincoln could commute the sentence.

 

Armed with letters from Union friends testifying to her brother’s Christian character, Melissa Corbin set out for Washington, D. C. Using every connection possible, Melissa finally reached the commander-in-chief by way of a letter delivered to him by one of Washington’s leading ministers. But President Lincoln already had reviewed the case and refused to open the letter. Referring to the testimony given during the trial, President Lincoln remarked, “Those men were bridge burners and bad men and should be punished.” He could not interfere with General Burnside’s order.

It was Melissa Corbin’s last hope. She returned to Kentucky, knowing that within a matter of days she and her family members would lay Captain Corbin to rest in the family cemetery at Carthage. Lt. McGraw was buried in the Flagg Spring Chapel Cemetery.
                                                             

Captain William F. Corbin
Courtesy of RootsWeb

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Note: Posted on the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums' website is the listing of the deaths and names of those buried in the Johnson's Island prison cemetery provided by the late Roger Long. Mentioned among them are Corbin and McGraw.

The Friends and Descendants of the Johnson's Island Civil War Prison are dedicated to the preservation of this National Historic Landmark