George Henry Thomas was born on July 31, 1816, in Newsome’s Depot, Virginia, to John and Elizabeth Thomas. His father was a planter who owned nearly 700 acres of land and 15 enslaved people. His father died when he was 13 years old. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1836, and he graduated four years later.

 

He received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 3^rd United States Artillery. He took part in the Second Seminole War, and he spent the early 1840s in posts across the South. He served with distinction in the Mexican American War, fighting at Monterrey and Buena Vista.

 

In 1851, he returned to West Point to work as a cavalry and artillery instructor. He married Frances Lucretia Kellogg in November 1852, and the couple had no children. He was promoted to captain in December 1853 and then to major of the 2^nd United States Cavalry in May 1855.

 

When the Civil War began, 19 of his regiment’s 36 officers resigned. Thomas, however, remained staunchly loyal to the Union. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1861 and then to colonel in May 1861. In August 1861, he became a brigadier general in the volunteer army, and he was promoted to major general in April 1862. He served in the Western Theater, and he took part in the siege of Corinth, the Battle of Perryville, and the Battle of Chickamauga. In the latter battle, his valiant attempt to stall the Confederate advance earned him the nickname the “Rock of Chickamauga.” Then, in December 1864, he defeated General John Bell Hood in the Battle of Nashville, helping cement his legacy as a Union war hero.

 

Thomas remained in the army after the war, and he commanded the Department of the Cumberland. He supported Reconstruction and helped protect African Americans from white violence. President Andrew Johnson offered him a promotion to lieutenant general, intending to replace Ulysses S. Grant as general in chief. Thomas, however, refused the promotion and requested command of the Division of the Pacific. He died from a stroke in San Francisco, California, on March 28, 1870.

 

Image: George H. Thomas (courtesy Wikicommons)

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