The Thornes had ancient recorded origins in Europe and North America. One of the Thornes was among the first to settle on American soil; Enrique, the father of Juan Bautista, a naval engineer by profession as a ship captain, fought for the independence of the United States. Juan Bautista, son of Margarita Brayer and Enrique, was born on March 8, 1807.
He enlisted in the Argentine Navy that, under the command of Brown, was preparing Rivadavia to defeat the power of the Brazilian empire in the waters of the Plata. Discharged from the squadron on June 1, 1826, he went on to review with the rank of Midshipman and pilot on the warship Congreso, placed under the command of Fournier, whom the Brazilian newspapers called "Exterminator Ray." Shortly afterwards, at the beginning of 1827, he was assigned to the brig Chacabuco, which under the command of Santiago J. Bynnon, later second commander of the Argentine fleet, came from Chile to join the original fleet and was later to fight the heroic defense of Patagones.
That March 7, 1827, in front of the river bar that the enemy ships had tried to cross and the coastal battery that Admiral Pinto Guedes had ordered to be destroyed, a glorious action would be fought for Argentine naval weapons. Commander Bynnon, with the Chacabuco and the ships of his squadron, at dusk set out to board the Brazilian ships; He took the Escudeiro, fell on the Constança, and the brave Thorne jumped first onto the deck of the Itaparica to triumphantly raise the Argentine flag. The action earned him command of the brig Patagones, armed with two cannons and an 18-gun revolving wheel, which on December 23, 1827 engaged in combat with the sixteen-gun Brazilian brig Pedro II and was surrendered, while Thorne was wounded. shrapnel was taken prisoner and taken to the capital of the empire, from where he returned when peace was made with Brazil in 1828.
Returning to service, he joined the brig Balcarce, which at the beginning of the war had been Brown's flagship. While there, he received the rank of captain on February 23, 1830, and then obtained several assignments: in February 1831, He was transferred to the schooner Martín García, in September 1832 he reached command of the brig Republicano with which he carried out the Entre Ríos campaign, upon whose return he was promoted to Sergeant Major. In the schooner Margarita he undertook the campaign to the Colorado River in 1833, and in order to assist in the expedition of Don Juan Manuel de Rosas, he explored said river in the schooner Sofía. The following year he was part of the exploration cruises to the southern regions, and alternately commanded the schooner brig San Martín, the brig Republicano and the lugger Patriota.
Designated Commander of the Sarandí, he was entrusted with the mission of assisting the defense of Martín García Island, a task he completed to be transferred to command of the land artillery of said island, where on October 12, 1838, with a hundred braves Gauchos led by Gerónimo Costa sold their lives dearly in the single combat they fought against the blocking French squad. Thorne fought heroically and remembering the episode many years later he used to say:
"My grave should be Martín García, because there I fought defenseless and
even with anger when seeing my helplessness..."
even with anger when seeing my helplessness..."
Difficult days ensued. The fight between federalists and unitarians became bitter and persistent. Thorne, a foreigner, was unable to discern any slogans in his chosen homeland other than subordination and discipline. Destined to land service, he carried out the Entre Ríos campaign with Echagüe in 1839. He was in many combats, received numerous wounds, and in old age he could locate under the skin, in different parts of the body, the leads of the bullets received. When on April 15, 1841, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he returned to place himself under the orders of Admiral Brown, he had to note in his service record that he had attended the war actions of Cagancha, Pago Largo, Don Cristóbal, Caaguazú , Yerúa, Sauce Grande and Punta Diamante.
Appointed commander of the brig General Belgrano in June 1842, he accompanied Brown in the campaign against Garibaldi; The Admiral continued going up the Paraná with the purpose of defeating the enemy, while Thorne had the mission of guarding the entry of reinforcements through the Plata, for which he had the second division of the fleet, made up of the 25 de Mayo and the General San Martín.
Assigned to the river defense service, on August 17, 1845 he was appointed commander of one of the three batteries located in the Vuelta de Obligado, in which position, a few months later, on November 20 of the same year he maintained with high courage and a tough fight against the blocking squad would be bizarre. The action having begun in the middle of the morning, Thorne's guns grumbled until late in the afternoon, and only ceased when the bullets had run out.
The brave opponent of the Anglo-French squadron obtained, perhaps in recognition of his previous services, the designation of Commander in Chief of the coasts of Paraná. From this position he directed the fortification of the Quebracho coast and fought some skirmishes against the blockading squad, in one of which he was wounded in the shoulder. Commander of the schooner Pontón in 1849, Caseros found him on February 3, 1852, commanding the boat Julio from which he descended to soon begin the path of political banning.
Erased from the military list he was forced to earn a living. Sea dog, as captain of a low-freight merchant ship, made many trips to India and worked in various tasks as a naval expert, until calmer spirits, the just and patriotic law of September 24, 1868, ended in general with the material sufferings and the moral agony of the brave combatants of the independence campaigns and the war against the empire of Brazil. The state remembered the helpless octogenarians who had founded the Republic and reparations were made.
Retired with the rank of colonel to the peace of the home, which he had formed by marrying María Abad. Thorne's existence came to an end at the age of seventy-eight, he suddenly fell ill and left life in his house in Tucumán Street, on August 1, 1885. His mortal remains were buried in the Dissidents cemetery. Twenty-two years later, in March 1907, on the centenary of his birth, a popular tribute commission honored him, and Dr. Pedro J. Coronado recalled his memory to say, among other things: "A century has passed since he was born on earth. "our hero misses, and his figure grows out of the cloud of passions and partisan mirage. Thorne chose his country and his destiny." The newspaper La Nación also expressed: "History owes him an illuminated page of heroism. Today, he belongs without hesitation to immortality."
Argentine Navy (c)