THE UNION TIGHTENS ITS GRIP 1863
George H. Thomas
UNION MAJOR GENERAL Born 1816 Died 1870
“One of the great names
of our history, one of the
greatest heroes of our war.”
ULYSSES S. GRANT ON THE DEATH OF THOMAS, 1870war Thomas met Braxton Bragg, who
later recommended him as an artillery
and cavalry instructor at West Point. In
1855–60, Thomas was an officer in the
famous 2nd U.S. Cavalry, serving in
Texas against the Comanches.Loyal to the Union
In Virginia expectations were high that
Thomas would side with his home state
when secession came, yet he remained
loyal to the Union army. He was with
Major General Robert Patterson’s
command in the Shenandoah Valley
during the First Bull Run campaign,
and then transferred to Kentucky
where he trained raw volunteers and
led them to victory at the Battle of Mill
Springs on January 18, 1861. This
victory secured eastern Kentucky for
the Union and his reward was a
division in Major General Don Carlos
Buell’s Army of the Ohio.A tower of strength
Arriving too late at Shiloh, Thomas,
now a major general, fought well in
the Corinth campaign of 1862. When
Buell was slow to stop Braxton Bragg’s
incursion into Kentucky in the fall of
1862, Thomas was offered command
of the army, but refused, and began a
pattern of quiet loyalty and steady
service. At Perryville in October 1862,
he was Buell’s titular second-in-
command, but was unable to influence
the course of the battle.
During the next two critical Western
campaigns, Thomas served superbly as
the Union army’s second-in-command.
At Stones River and Chickamauga, he
held a reserve position, to which the
rest of the army could rally, or
withdraw. During the TullahomaG
eorge Henry Thomas was the
third most prominent Union
general in the Civil War, after
Grant and Sherman—a resolute and
highly competent military professional.
Born in Southampton County, Virginia,
Thomas was the middle of nine
children and grew up on a plantation
of modest proportions. He graduated
from West Point 12th out of 42,
then served at various posts
in Florida, Louisiana,
and South Carolina
until the War with
Mexico broke out in- During the
General George H. Thomas
Resolute, thoughtful, and highly competent, the
Virginia-born officer nevertheless shunned the public
spotlight and, in doing so, marginalized his exceptional
accomplishments that helped win the war in the West.