Walter Thorn

He Climbed the Mined Bulkhead to Save a Guard

Walter Thorn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 18, 1844. He came of age as the United States moved toward civil war and developed strong abolitionist convictions that would remain part of his public life long after the conflict ended. When war came, Thorn entered Union service and served with New York infantry units before receiving a commission as an officer in the United States Colored Troops.

His most important wartime assignment came with Company G of the 116th U.S. Colored Infantry. The regiment had been organized in Kentucky and was composed largely of African American enlisted soldiers serving under commissioned officers. Thorn joined the regiment as a second lieutenant and accompanied it into Virginia, where it became part of the Union operations associated with the Army of the James.

By late 1864, the 116th was involved in work around the Dutch Gap Canal on the James River. The canal was one of the most ambitious engineering projects undertaken during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. Union forces hoped to cut a channel across a narrow neck of land at Dutch Gap, allowing vessels to bypass a dangerous bend in the James River and avoid Confederate positions that threatened navigation.

The work was difficult and exposed. Soldiers and laborers had to remove large quantities of earth while Confederate forces occupied commanding positions nearby. The 116th U.S. Colored Infantry became heavily involved in the construction effort, performing demanding labor under wartime conditions while the larger campaign around Richmond and Petersburg continued.

On January 1, 1865, preparations were made to destroy a bulkhead that had been left in place during construction of the canal. Explosives had been positioned, and the fuse was lit.

Then Thorn learned that a picket guard had not been withdrawn from the danger area.

The situation demanded immediate action. Once the fuse had been ignited, the explosion could not simply be treated as a distant possibility. Thorn knew that a soldier remained dangerously exposed near the mined structure.

Instead of remaining at a safe distance, Second Lieutenant Walter Thorn mounted the bulkhead himself. At great personal peril, he moved into the danger zone and warned the guard of the approaching explosion.

The official Medal of Honor citation later preserved the action in direct terms: after the fuse to the mined bulkhead had been lit, Thorn learned that the picket guard had not been withdrawn, mounted the bulkhead, and warned the guard of the danger.

It was an act defined by timing. Thorn did not have the luxury of waiting for another soldier to carry the warning or for a formal order to be issued. The explosive charge was already active. The danger was immediate, and his response placed him close to the very structure that was about to be destroyed.

The explosion at Dutch Gap became part of the larger story of the canal project. The attempt did not immediately create the navigable passage Union planners had hoped for, but Thorn’s actions that day created a much more personal legacy. His decision had been made to protect another soldier at the moment when remaining at a distance would have been the safer choice.

Thorn continued his military career after the Dutch Gap action. He was later promoted beyond the second-lieutenant rank he held on January 1, 1865, and his wartime service ultimately brought him the brevet rank of major. The distinction is important: the heroic action for which he became nationally recognized was performed while he was a second lieutenant, while Brevet Major represented the highest verified rank associated with his Civil War service.

Formal recognition came decades later. On December 8, 1898, Walter Thorn received the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Dutch Gap Canal. More than thirty years had passed since the Civil War, but the award permanently connected his name with the moment when he had deliberately entered the danger zone to warn the forgotten picket guard.

The Medal of Honor was the nation’s highest military decoration, and Thorn’s award rested on a clearly documented act of personal courage. It was not based on commanding a great battlefield attack or capturing a strategic objective. His distinction came from recognizing that another soldier had been left in mortal danger and taking immediate action despite the risk to himself.

After the Civil War, Thorn returned to Brooklyn and established a long civilian career. He became an attorney and a prominent figure in local public life. He also held a number of government positions at the federal, county, and municipal levels, including service as a deputy sheriff. His public career reflected the same continuing involvement in civic affairs that had marked his wartime service.

Thorn also maintained his connection with the military. He later served as a captain in the New York National Guard and remained active in veterans’ organizations. As the generation that had fought the Civil War grew older, he participated in efforts to preserve the memory of Union veterans and the sacrifices made during the conflict.

His later years also reflected his interest in preserving military history. Thorn retained important mementos from his service, and material associated with his military career eventually entered historical collections. His life therefore became connected not only with the events he personally witnessed, but also with efforts to preserve the history of the soldiers who had served during the Civil War.

Walter Thorn died at Hampton, Virginia, in 1920. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, placing his final resting place among generations of American service members.

His legacy remains centered on Dutch Gap. On January 1, 1865, an explosive charge had already been set in motion when Thorn learned that a guard had been overlooked. He could have remained clear of the blast area. Instead, he climbed onto the mined bulkhead and carried the warning himself.

More than three decades later, the Medal of Honor ensured that the act would not be forgotten. Walter Thorn’s story endures as an example of military courage expressed not through conquest, but through a deliberate decision to risk his own life in an effort to save another soldier.