John Thomas (general)
Encyclopedia
John Thomas was an American doctor and soldier from Massachusetts
who became a major general
in the Continental Army
. He was a leader during the siege of Boston
. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from Canada
after the unsuccessful invasion
by the Continental Army. He died from smallpox
during the retreat.
Thomas was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts
. 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.
in 1746 he was appointed surgeon to a regiment bound for Annapolis Royal
in Nova Scotia
. He later served as surgeon in General William Shirley
's regiment. Liking military service, in 1747 he traded his post as surgeon for that of a lieutenant.
By the time of the French and Indian War
he had risen to colonel in the militia or provincial ranks. He served in Nova Scotia again in 1759. In 1760, General Jeffrey Amherst 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 which he had a daughter and two sons.
) 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, and in June, the Congress
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
was given preference. When George Washington
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
brought from Fort Ticonderoga
. 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 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 Three Rivers
. He began a withdrawal with the rest. General Thomas died of smallpox on June 2, 1776 during the retreat up the Richelieu River
near Chambly
. By June 18 the Continental Army had abandoned Canada.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
who became a major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
. He was a leader during the siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
after the unsuccessful invasion
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
by the Continental Army. He died from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
during the retreat.
Thomas was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,132 at the 2010 census.See also: Green Harbor, Marshfield , Rexhame, Marshfield Hills, and Ocean Bluff and Brant Rock....
. As a young man he studied medicine with Doctor Tufts in Medford
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
before beginning his own practice in Kingston
Kingston, Massachusetts
Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 12,629.-History:Before European settlers arrived in Kingston it was within the tribal home to the Wampanoag people...
. He was married to Hannah Thomas with whom he had two sons and a daughter.
Colonial wars
During King George's WarKing George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
in 1746 he was appointed surgeon to a regiment bound for Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. He later served as surgeon in General William Shirley
William Shirley
William Shirley was a British colonial administrator who served twice as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and as Governor of the Bahamas in the 1760s...
's regiment. Liking military service, in 1747 he traded his post as surgeon for that of a lieutenant.
By the time of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
he had risen to colonel in the militia or provincial ranks. He served in Nova Scotia again in 1759. In 1760, General Jeffrey Amherst put him at the head of a division during the attack and capture of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. After the war he returned to his practice at Kingston. He was married to Hannah Thomas with which 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 Regiment2nd Massachusetts Regiment
The 2nd Massachusetts 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 from the army's 1775 establishment , and was known as the 23rd Continental Regiment during the 1776...
) in Plymouth County
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
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, and in June, the Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
appointed him a brigadier in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
.
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
Artemas Ward was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts...
was given preference. When George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Charles Lee
Charles Lee (general)
Charles Lee was a British soldier who later served as a General of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. Lee served in the British army during the Seven Years War. After the war he sold his commission and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II...
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
Fortification of Dorchester Heights
The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city....
overlooking the south harbor at Boston using cannon that Henry Knox
Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
brought from Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
. From this position he threatened the British fleet and the British were forced to withdraw, evacuating Boston
Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)
March 17 is Evacuation Day, a holiday observed in Suffolk County and also by the public schools in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. The holiday commemorates the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the Siege of Boston, early in the American Revolutionary War...
on March 17. Thomas was finally named a major general.
After General Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a brigadier-general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland...
was killed, Thomas was assigned to command in Canada and take charge of the Canadian invasion
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
. He joined the army besieging Quebec 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 Three Rivers
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
. He began a withdrawal with the rest. General Thomas died of smallpox on June 2, 1776 during the retreat up the Richelieu River
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...
near Chambly
Chambly, Quebec
Chambly is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about to the south east of Montreal.- Geography :It sits on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .-History:...
. By June 18 the Continental Army had abandoned Canada.