Thomas' Legion, also known as Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders, Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders, and the 69th North Carolina Regiment, was a unit of the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in 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 ...

. The formation was organized in 1862 by

William Holland Thomas William Holland Thomas (February 5, 1805 – May 10, 1893) was an American merchant and soldier. He was the son of Temperance Thomas (née Colvard) and Richard Thomas, who died before he was born. He was raised by his mother on Raccoon Cr ...

and fought in the last skirmish of the war in North Carolina before surrendering in May 1865. The regiment was unusual in several respects. Thomas, the only white chief of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Indians, recruited a sizable number of Cherokees. In addition, like a few other Civil War formations, it was a true legion, that is a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme vio ...

unit, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. William Holland Thomas actively promoted the idea of having Cherokees fight for the Confederacy. In 1862, he organized 200 Cherokee Indians in North Carolina as the Junaluska Zouaves, named after Chief

Junaluska Junaluska (Cherokee: ''Tsunu’lahun’ski'') (c.1775 – October 20, 1868), was a leader of Cherokee who resided in towns in western North Carolina in the early 19th century. He fought alongside Andrew Jackson, and saved his life, at the Battle ...

; by April, he had raised the North Carolina Cherokee Battalion. His petition to recruit additional Cherokees and whites was approved by Confederate authorities and he was authorized to raise a legion. It was officially organized on September 27, 1862, at

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, with recruits coming primarily from western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and eastern Tennessee. The unit, under the command of newly elected Colonel William Holland Thomas, initially comprised 1125 men in an infantry regiment and a cavalry battalion. The infantry was organized into ten companies, two Cherokee (Companies A and B) and eight white (C-I, K), and became known as Love's Regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel James R. Love II. Walker's Battalion was raised in

Cherokee County, North Carolina Cherokee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It borders Tennessee to its west and Georgia to its south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,774. The county seat is Murphy, elevation 1604 ft. History ...

by William Stringfield and led by Lieutenant Colonel William C. Walker. The third element was the Cherokee Battalion, made up of 400 Cherokees. John T. Levi's Light Artillery Battery was added on April 1, 1863. The unit was mainly assigned to defend the area. A portion of the Legion was sent to Powell's Valley in late 1862 and was ambushed at Baptist Gap. When Cherokee Lieutenant Astooga Stoga was killed leading a counterattack, enraged Indian comrades scalped several dead or wounded Union soldiers. To defuse the situation, Colonel Thomas had the scalps returned to the Union with apologies. The Legion was sent east to join General

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 ...

in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. At this point, the Legion was down to 500 men. It fought in the

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 ...

on October 19, 1864. By the time the Legion was transferred back to North Carolina, it mustered fewer than 100 soldiers. An appreciative General

Gabriel C. Wharton Gabriel Colvin Wharton (July 23, 1824 – May 12, 1906) was an American civil engineer and soldier who served as a General officer, general in the Confederate States Army, Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After the war he was a ...

stated, "The gallant conduct of your command rendered your efforts to rejoin your command in North Carolina abortive, and the constant refusal to your many applications for transfer is complimentary evidence of the esteem in which you were held, and a grateful acknowledgement of the services you could render." Cherokee Confederates Reunion

Back in his home state, Thomas brought the unit's strength up to 1200 men, including 400 Cherokees, by April 1, 1865. Eight days later, however, Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to

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 ...

. Thomas and his Legion surrendered to Union forces at Waynesville, North Carolina, on May 10.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

Volume XVI of ''North Carolina Troops 1861–1865 A Roster: Thomas's Legion''
(2008), Matthew M. Brown and Michael W. Coffey (editors). Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from North Carolina Legions of the American Civil War Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) 1862 establishments in North Carolina

See also

References

Bibliography