Charles Mynn Thruston

Charles Mynn Thruston
Born February 22, 1798(1798-02-22)
Lexington, Kentucky
Died February 18, 1873(1873-02-18) (aged 74)
Cumberland, Maryland
Place of burial Rose Hill Cemetery Cumberland's West Side
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1814–36, 1861–62
Rank Brigadier General
Battles/wars War of 1812
Seminole Wars
American Civil War

Charles Mynn Thruston (February 22, 1798 – February 18, 1873) was a soldier, farmer, politician, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served as the mayor of Cumberland, Maryland, from 1861 to 1862.

Thruston was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Kentucky U.S. Senator Buckner Thruston. At age 16, he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1814 and served during the War of 1812 as an engineer on Governors Island, New York City. After the war, Thruston was promoted to the rank of captain in the artillery branch. He later fought in the Seminole Wars of the 1830s. In 1836, Thruston resigned from the Army and became a farmer in Maryland.

When the Civil War broke out, he was serving as Mayor of Cumberland, Maryland, which was a critical railroad hub.

On September 7, 1861, Thruston was appointed Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers, giving him military authority to protect the B&O Railroad from Confederate raiders such as McNeill's Rangers.

Thruston was largely unsuccessful at stopping the Confederate raids from randomly destroying railroad tracks. On April 1862, Thruston resigned his commission and allowed a younger commander to assume the responsibility of protecting the B&O Railroad from the enemy cavalrymen.

Thruston died in Cumberland, Maryland. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery on Cumberland's West Side.

See also

Biography portal
United States Army portal
American Civil War portal

External links

Preceded by
John Humbird
Mayor of Cumberland
1861-1862
Succeeded by
Charles H. Ohr


Mayors of Cumberland
John Scott | Samuel Magill Roger Perry | John Gephart | John Wright (mayor) | Gustavus Beall | Frederick Deems | Samuel Charles | James Smith (mayor) | John Gephart | Thomas Shriver | Thomas F. White | Thomas Shriver | Daniel Saylor | John Hayes (mayor) | F. B. Tower | A. L. Withers | William Wallace McKaig | Joseph H. Tucker | James W. Jones | D. W. McCleary | John Humbird | Charles Mynn Thruston | Charles H. Ohr | James Smith (mayor) | Charles H. Ohr | George Harrison (mayor) | John Humbird | Lloyd Lowe William Piatt | John B. Widener | William A. Withers | William R. McCulley | John Humbird | William A. Withers | William McMahon McKaig | David J. Blackiston | Warren C. White | Clarence M. King | William A. Cromwell | Clarence M. King | George A. Kean | George A. Young | Thomas W. Koon | George Henderson (mayor) | George W. Legge | Thomas W. Koon | Harry Irvine | Thomas F. Conlon | Thomas S. Post | Roy W. Eves | J. Edwin Keech | Earl D. Chaney | Thomas F. Conlon, Jr. | F. Perry Smith, Jr. | Frank K. Nethken | George M. Wychoff, Jr. | Harry Stern | Edward C. Athey | Lee N. Fiedler | Brian Grim