John Thomas (1724 – 2 June 1776) was an American doctor and soldier from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

who became a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the Continental Army. He was a leader during the siege of Boston. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

after the unsuccessful invasion by the Continental Army. He died from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

during the retreat. Thomas was born in

Marshfield, Massachusetts Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 census. It includes the census-designated places (CDPs) of Marshfield, Marshfield Hills, Ocean Bluf ...

. As a young man he studied medicine with Doctor Tufts in Medford before beginning his own practice in Kingston. He was married to Hannah Thomas with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Colonial wars

During King George's War in 1746 he was appointed surgeon to a regiment bound for

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port-Royal (Acadia), Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Liking military service, in 1747 he traded his post as surgeon for that of a lieutenant. In 1755 he served as surgeon in General

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...

's regiment. By the time of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

he had risen to colonel in the militia or provincial ranks. He served in Nova Scotia again in 1759. In 1760, General

Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...

put him at the head of a division during the attack and capture of Montreal. After the war he returned to his practice at Kingston. He was married to Hannah Thomas with whom he had a daughter and two sons.

American War of Independence

In the period leading up to open war, Thomas recruited a regiment of volunteers (

2nd Massachusetts Regiment The 2nd Massachusetts Regiment, also known as Thomas' Regiment and Bailey's Regiment, was a unit of the Massachusetts Line in the 1777 establishment of the Continental Army. It was a successor to a number of Massachusetts provincial regiments f ...

) in Plymouth County and served as their colonel. In February 1775 the state assembly named him a brigadier general. He led his troops to the siege in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and in June, the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

appointed him a brigadier in the Continental Army. General Thomas briefly resigned, disappointed that while four major generals were named, he was not on the list. At the time the Congress was trying to name no more than one major general from each state, and

Artemas Ward Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, President John Adams describing him as ...

was given preference. When

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and Charles Lee both implored him to remain, he returned to service. The Congress did resolve that he would be given precedence over all other brigadiers in the army. On the night of March 4, 1776 he led his division to fortify the Dorchester Heights overlooking the south harbor at Boston using cannon that

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

brought from

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

. From this position he threatened the British fleet and the British were forced to withdraw, evacuating Boston on March 17. Thomas was finally named a major general. After General Richard Montgomery was killed, Thomas was assigned to command in Canada and take charge of the Canadian invasion. He joined the army besieging

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

on May 1, but found a disaster. The forces here numbered less than 1,000. Besides its walls, the city had more defenders than that. Over 300 of his men were already overdue for discharge from their enlistment, and smallpox was raging through the force. He immediately sent the sick men to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

and began a withdrawal with the rest. General Thomas died of

on June 2, 1776 during the retreat up the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

near Chambly. By June 18 the Continental Army had abandoned Canada.

Legacy

* namesake of

Thomaston, Maine Thomaston (formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, Lincoln) is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2020 census. Noted for its antique architecture, Thomaston is an old port popular with tourists ...

References

; Endnotes ;Texts
Diary of John Thomas, surgeon in Winslow's expedition of 1755 against the Acadians (1879)

External links

* –

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

Military Cemetery, Quebec * – cenotaph at the Old Burial Ground, Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1724 births 1776 deaths American Revolutionary War deaths Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Deaths from smallpox People of colonial Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War Infectious disease deaths in Quebec 18th-century American physicians People from Marshfield, Massachusetts