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First Lieutenant & Adjutant · U.S. Army

John Michael Tobin

First Lieutenant & Adjutant John Michael Tobin, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on July 1, 1862 at Malvern Hill, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War July 1, 1862Born in Ireland

Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, First Lieutenant & Adjutant John Michael Tobin received the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 1, 1862 at Malvern Hill, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company I, 9th Massachusetts Infantry. Tobin was about 21 years old.

3 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 11, 1896, 33 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Captain.

Tobin was born in 1841 in Waterford, Ireland — one of 258 recipients born in Ireland. His Medal of Honor is credited to Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Tobin died on December 27, 1898, at the age of about 57. He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Tobin is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

Voluntarily took command of the 9th Massachusetts while adjutant, bravely fighting from 3:00 P.M. until dusk, rallying and reforming the regiment under fire; twice picked up the regimental flag, the color bearer having been shot down, and placed it in worthy hands.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

1862 · Civil War

Battle of Malvern Hill

Result: Union victory

2 Medal of Honor recipients

Also served in: American Civil War.

Life beyond the battlefield

  • Offices held: member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
  • Occupations: politician

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: County Waterford — map
  • Died: Knoxville — map
  • Buried: Mount Auburn Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. 1841
    Born in Waterford, Ireland
  2. July 1, 1862
    Act of valor — Malvern Hill, Virginia
    Age about 21. Company I, 9th Massachusetts Infantry
  3. March 11, 1896
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. December 27, 1898
    Died
    Age about 57.
  5. Resting place
    Mount Auburn Cemetery
    Cambridge, Massachusetts

Biography

John Michael Tobin (1835 or 1841–1898) was an officer in the Union Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill during the American Civil War.

From the Wikipedia article “John Michael Tobin”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on July 1, 1862

WO William Henry Osborne Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Peter F. Rafferty Private · Army Civil War · 1862 William Young warren Ripley Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1862

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

JA John Gregory bishop Adams Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 WS William A. Stanley Shell Man · Navy Civil War · 1864 DH Daniel C. Harrington Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1862 PH Peter Howard Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1863 JP John Preston Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JC James B. Chandler Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.