Stephen Thomas (December 6, 1809 – December 18, 1903), manufacturer, politician, jurist, and
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
officer. He was a recipient of the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for gallantry.
Early life
Thomas was born in
Bethel, Vermont
Bethel is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2020 census. The town includes the locations of Bethel village, Bethel-Gilead, East Bethel, Lilliesville, Lympus (formerly Olympus), and West Bethel. ...
, the son of John and Rebecca (Batchellor) Thomas. His father died while serving in the U.S. 31st Infantry during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. His grandfather, Joseph, served in a
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
regiment during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. Thomas was only four years old when his father died, and he started work young to help his widowed mother. He apprenticed in the woolen industry, then started his own business, which was destroyed by fire, and finally ended up in the manufacturing business in
West Fairlee.
On January 13, 1830, Thomas married Ann Peabody of
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. She died in West Fairlee on January 8, 1877.
They were the parents of two children, son Hartop and daughter Amanda.
In the 1830s and 1840s, Thomas served in the
Vermont Militia.
He rose through the ranks, and commanded the 19th Regiment's Rifle Company as a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.
Political career
He represented the town of West Fairlee in the
Vermont House of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
in 1838, 1839, 1845, 1846, 1860 and 1861. He was a state senator, representing
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
from 1849 to 1851, and a delegate to the state Constitutional Conventions in 1843 and 1850. He served a register of probate for the district of
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
from 1842 to 1846, and probate judge from 1847 to 1849.
He was a Democrat until the outbreak of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, an alternate to the Democratic national convention of 1848, delegate for the next three conventions, in 1852, 1856 and 1860, and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1860.
Governor
Erastus Fairbanks
Erastus Fairbanks (October 28, 1792November 20, 1864) was an American manufacturer, Whig politician, a founder of the Republican Party, and the 21st and 26th governor of Vermont.
Biography
Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, to P ...
called an extra session of the State Legislature on April 23, 1861, which Thomas attended. He was a member of the Ways and Means committee, which intended to report out a bill appropriating half a million dollars for military purposes. Thomas presented an impassioned speech supporting an amendment that doubled the amount to one million dollars. He said "Until this rebellion shall have been put down, I have no friends to reward and no enemies to punish, and I trust that the whole strength and power of Vermont, both of men and of money, will be put into the field to sustain the government."
After some spirited debate in the full house, the measure was passed unanimously. Thomas also supported passage of a bill giving every non-commissioned officer and private seven dollars a month in addition to their Federal pay, and that bill was enacted as well.
Military career
Thomas was commissioned as colonel of the
8th Vermont Infantry
The 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three-year infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in both major theaters, first in Louisiana and then in Virginia, from February 1862 to June 1865. It was a member of th ...
on November 12, 1861, and proceeded to recruit the regiment, which was destined to be part of
Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
's New England Division. The regiment left Vermont for the
Department of the Gulf
The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.
History United States Army (Civil War)
Creation
The department was cons ...
on March 4, 1862, and Thomas commanded it through May 1863, when he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division,
XIX Corps, which included the 8th Vermont. During this period, the 8th Vermont participated in the Occupation of
, and battles at Raceland, Boutte Station, Bayou des Allemands,
Bisland, and
Port Hudson.
In July 1864, a portion of the XIX Corps, including the 8th Vermont, was transferred to the eastern theater of the war. They arrived at
Fortress Monroe
Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
just in time to join the
VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to:
France
* VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...
in the Shenandoah Valley, and participate in Major General
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...
's
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
against the Confederacy's
Jubal Early
Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissio ...
. Thomas commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division from October 15 to October 24, and again from November 1 to December 3, which included the 8th Vermont,
12th Connecticut, 160th New York and 47th Pennsylvania infantry regiments. During this period, the 8th Vermont participated in the
Battle of Opequon
The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate ...
,
Battle of Fisher's Hill
The Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, near Strasburg, Virginia, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Despite its strong defensive position, the Confederate States Army, Confederate ...
,
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. Du ...
, and Newton, Virginia. In 1892 he received the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for "distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked," at Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864.
Thomas was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers on February 1, 1865, and mustered out of the service August 24, 1865.
Postwar
General Thomas started the war as a Democrat, but by the time he returned home, he was a Republican. "But the opposition of the old party, whose favorite he had been, would not permit it, and he was obliged to defend his course in public. The leaders with whom he had affiliated said to him after his return from the war, 'THOMAS, you've changed; we haven't.' 'Fools never do,' was his reply.
He refused to be a candidate for governor, but did serve as lieutenant governor in 1867 and 1868 under Governor
John B. Page. He served as a delegate to the soldiers' convention that nominated General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
for the presidency.
He was appointed by President Grant as a U.S. pension agent in 1870, and served in that capacity for eight years. In the late 1880s Thomas was president of the U.S. Clothes Pin Company, of
Montpelier, which had 15 employees and customers worldwide. He was also president of the North Haverhill Granite Company.
He served as commander of the Department of Vermont,
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
, and as president of the
Vermont Officers' Reunion Society. He was Companion #09174 of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
, or MOLLUS, through its Vermont Commandery.
General Thomas died in Montpelier, and was buried at
Green Mount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as many ...
in Montpelier.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Colonel, 8th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864. Entered service at: Montpelier, Vt. Birth: Vermont. Date of issue: July 25, 1892.
Citation:
Distinguished conduct in a desperate hand to hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked.
See also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
*
List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: T–Z
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
Union generals
__NOTOC__
The following lists show the names, substantive ranks, and brevet ranks (if applicable) of all general officers who served in the United States Army during the Civil War, in addition to a small selection of lower-ranke ...
Notes
References
*Benedict, G. G., ''Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5.'' Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association, 1888, pp. 304, 750.
*Carpenter, George N. History of the Eighth Regiment Vermont Volunteers. 1861-1865. Issued by the committee of publication. Boston, Press of Deland & Barta, 1886, too numerous to detail.
*Child, Hamilton, ''Gazetteer of Orange County, Vt. 1762-1888,'' Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Journal Company, 1888, pp. 506–510.
*Crockett, Walter Hill, ''Vermont The Green Mountain State,'' New York: The Century History Company, Inc., 1921, p. 587.
*Ullery, Jacob G., compiler, ''Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont,'' Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, part 2, p. 396.
Further reading
*Coffin, Howard, ''Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War.'' Woodstock, VT.: Countryman Press, 1995.
*Peck, Theodore S., compiler, ''Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861-66. Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Stephen
1809 births
1903 deaths
Union Army generals
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
People of Vermont in the American Civil War
Lieutenant Governors of Vermont
Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
People from Bethel, Vermont
American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
Burials at Green Mount Cemetery (Montpelier, Vermont)
19th-century American politicians
Grand Army of the Republic officials