Stephen Thomas
Encyclopedia
Stephen Thomas manufacturer, politician, jurist, and Union Army
officer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor
for gallantry.
, the son of John and Rebecca (Batchellor) Thomas. His father died while serving in the U.S. 31st Infantry during the War of 1812
. His grandfather, Joseph, served in a New Hampshire
regiment during the American Revolution
. 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
.
Thomas married Ann Peabody of Reading, on January 13, 1831. She died at West Fairlee, January 8, 1877.
in 1838, 1839, 1845, 1846, 1860 and 1861. He was a state senator, representing Orange County in 1848 and 1849, and a delegate to the Constitutional Conventions in 1843 and 1850. He served a register of probate for the district of Bradford
from 1842 to 1846, and probate judge from 1847 to 1849.
He was a Democrat until the outbreak of the American Civil War
, 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
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.
on November 12, 1861, and proceeded to recruit the regiment, which was destined to be part of Benjamin F. Butler
's New England Division. The regiment left Vermont for the Department of the Gulf 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 New Orleans
, 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 just in time to join the VI Corps
in the Shenandoah Valley, and participate in Major General Philip Sheridan
's campaign
against the Confederacy's Jubal Early. 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 Third Battle of Winchester
, Fisher's Hill
, Cedar Creek
, and Newton, Virginia. In 1892 he received the Medal of Honor
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, Volunteers on February 1, 1865, and mustered out of the service August 24, 1865.
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
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 was a member of and served as commander of the Grand Army of the Republic
, and president of the Vermont Officers' Reunion Society
.
General Thomas died in Montpelier, and is buried in Green Mount cemetery.
Citation:
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
officer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for gallantry.
Early life
Thomas was born in Bethel, VermontBethel, Vermont
Bethel is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. The town includes the locations of Bethel-Gilead, East Bethel, Lilliesville, Lympus , 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
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. His grandfather, Joseph, served in a New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
regiment during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. 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
West Fairlee, Vermont
West Fairlee is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 726 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.8 square miles , of which 22.6 square miles is land and 0.2 square mile is water...
.
Thomas married Ann Peabody of Reading, on January 13, 1831. She died at West Fairlee, January 8, 1877.
Political career
He represented the town of Fairlee in the Vermont House of RepresentativesVermont 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. Vermont legislative districting divides representing districts into 66 single-member districts and 42 two-member...
in 1838, 1839, 1845, 1846, 1860 and 1861. He was a state senator, representing Orange County in 1848 and 1849, and a delegate to the Constitutional Conventions in 1843 and 1850. He served a register of probate for the district of Bradford
Bradford, Vermont
Bradford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,619 at the 2000 census.-History:The first settler was John Hosmer in 1765...
from 1842 to 1846, and probate judge from 1847 to 1849.
He was a Democrat until the outbreak of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, 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
Erastus Fairbanks was an American manufacturer and Whig politician.He studied law but abandoned it for mercantile pursuits, finally settling in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where in 1824 he formed a partnership with his brother Thaddeus for the manufacture of scales, stoves and plows...
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 Infantry8th Vermont Infantry
The 8th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry 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 the XIX Corps.The regiment was mustered...
on November 12, 1861, and proceeded to recruit the regiment, which was destined to be part of Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
's New England Division. The regiment left Vermont for the Department of the Gulf on March 4, 1862, and Thomas commanded it through May 1863, when he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps
XIX Corps (ACW)
XIX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley....
, which included the 8th Vermont. During this period, the 8th Vermont participated in the Occupation of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans (Civil War)
The Capture of New Orleans during the American Civil War was an important event for the Union. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was unopposed in its capture of the city itself, which was spared the destruction suffered by many other Southern cities...
, and battles at Raceland, Boutte Station, Bayou des Allemands, Bisland
Battle of Fort Bisland
-Sources:* Ayres, Thomas, Dark and Bloody Ground : The Battle of Mansfield and the Forgotten Civil War in Louisiana, Cooper Square Press, 2001.* Parrish, T. Michael, Richard Taylor, Soldier Prince of Dixie, University of North Carolina Press, 1992....
and Port Hudson
Siege of Port Hudson
The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....
.
In July 1864, a portion of the XIX Corps
XIX Corps (ACW)
XIX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley....
, including the 8th Vermont, was transferred to the eastern theater of the war. They arrived at Fortress Monroe just in time to join the VI Corps
VI Corps (ACW)
The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Formation:The corps was organized as the Sixth Provisional Corps on May 18, 1862, by uniting Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's Division, which had just arrived on the Virginia Peninsula, with Maj. Gen. William F. Smith's...
in the Shenandoah Valley, and participate in Major General Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan 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 association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
's campaign
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
against the Confederacy's Jubal Early. 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 Third Battle of Winchester
Battle of Opequon
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
, Fisher's Hill
Battle of Fisher's Hill
The Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Fisher's Hill is located near Strasburg, Virginia....
, Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
, and Newton, Virginia. In 1892 he received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
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, 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 witty reply.He refused to be a candidate for governor, but did serve as lieutenant governor in 1867 and 1868 under Governor John B. Page
John B. Page
John Boardman Page was the 30th Governor of Vermont from 1867 to 1869. At age 16 he began working at the National Bank of Rutland, where his father was cashier, and he rose to become its president...
. He served as a delegate to the soldiers' convention that nominated General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
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
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
, which had 15 employees and customers worldwide. He was also president of the North Haverhill Granite Company.
He was a member of and served as commander of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
, and president of the Vermont Officers' Reunion Society
Reunion Society of Vermont Officers
The Reunion Society of Vermont Officers was an organization of American Civil War veterans.-Founding:The Society was founded in 1864 by Union veterans from Vermont. Its original organizers included Redfield Proctor, George G. Benedict, and Wheelock G...
.
General Thomas died in Montpelier, and is buried in Green Mount cemetery.
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
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: T–Z
- List of American Civil War generals
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.