Thomas James Berry was born on October 28, 1835, near Newnan, Georgia, to Andrew J. Berry and Eliza Parks. His father was a farmer who owned $50,000 of real estate in 1850, as well as at least one enslaved laborer. He grew up and attended school in Coweta County, Georgia. He attended Franklin College in the early 1850s before enrolling at West Point in 1853. Acquaintances described him as a “young man of fine mind excellent habits…[and] high standing and character.” He graduated in 1857 and received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 2^nd United States Dragoons. In 1860, he was stationed in Fort Kearney in the Nebraska Territory, and he owned $12,000 of personal property.

 

He resigned from the United States army by the summer of 1861. On September 19, 1861, he received a commission as a major in the 60^th Georgia Infantry. He was severely wounded in the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 28, 1862, and he spent the next several months recovering. He eventually rejoined the regiment, and he received a promotion to lieutenant colonel. The regiment took part in the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness. He was shot through the arm at the Wilderness in May 1864, and he “retired” from the regiment on January 3, 1865. He returned to Newnan after leaving the army, and he died there on October 16, 1865.

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