Josiah T. Herbert

Colonel JOSIAH T. HERBERT died suddenly in St. Louis, Missouri, March 30th, 1875.

He was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, July 14th, 1838, and moved to Iowa in 1856, where, upon the commencement of hostilities, he assisted in recruiting the 16th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and with it entered the field as Sergeant-Major, from which position he was soon promoted to Adjutant, and thence through the various grades to be its Lieutenant-Colonel and its last commanding officer. The details of his history need not be given, for it was the history of his regiment, and its history the history of the Armv of the Tennessee. From Shiloh to Bentonville he shared in all the battles and campaigns of that army, maintaining at all times the reputation of a most gallant and efficient officer, who arose to a prominent position through sheer force of doing his duty courageously and well on the battle-field, on the march and in camp. There never was a man who took less counsel of his fears, if he was accessible to such a feeling, which Turenne declared to be a part of human nature, he never allowed it to perceptibly sway his conduct, and over and over again he distinguished himself by assuming and performing tasks from which others would have shrank.

He was married to a most estimable young lady. Miss R. L. Bunta, at Troy, Ohio, December 3rd, 1865, after which he moved to East Liverpool, Ohio, and engaged in the oil and afterwards in the queensware business. He had, while in the army, contracted typhoid pneumonia, the results of which finally caused his death, leaving a wife and family of small children to mourn his loss.

He was a devoted and enthusiastic member of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, having enrolled himself as a member at the time of its organization in Raleigh, North Carolina, and never missed a subsequent meeting. There are few, very few, members who will be more missed at our annual gatherings than poor Herbert, where his happy smile and kindly greeting cheered the hearts of all with whom he came in contact.

We know the journey is hot far

Across death's mystic river;

And when we meet beyond its shores,

We part no more forever.

SOURCE: Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Report Of The Proceedings Of The Society Of The Army Of The Tennessee, Volumes 6-10, p. 361-2