John Castelli Rathbone, or "Cass Rathbone" as he was better known, joined the 11th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry 29 October 1861. He was promoted to the rank of colonel 15 February 1862. His troops, lacking sufficient arms and other supplies, were attacked by Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins and his troops at Spencer, (West) Virginia on 2 September 1862. Rathbone was compelled to surrender to Jenkins and he and his troops were taken prisoner. Rathbone was paroled later that year.

Rathbone was dismissed from the service 7 January 1863 for cowardly conduct. Rathbone's dismissal is remarkable, as it was done without a court martial or even an explication of the charges against him. His dismissal was eventually revoked by President Andrew Johnson on 18 May 1866. However, Rathbone's reputation never recovered.

Before joining the Union army Rathbone had been the founder and operator of the oil fields at Burning Springs, (West) Virginia. He argued persistently for the importance of the oil fields, but was largely ignored by his superiors. Burning Springs was destroyed on 9 May 1863 by Confederate Brigadier General William E. Jones.