George Henry Thomas

George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816 - March 28, 1870) was a US Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War, one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. He is perhaps best known by the nom de guerre "Rock of Chickamauga" for rallying his side at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863.

At the battle, Thomas was commander of the XIV Army Corps. On the second day of the battle A low-echelon commander incorrectly ordered a shift in units such that a gap developed in the Union lines that the South immediately exploited. The Union HQ was overrun and Rosecrans and his entire staff along with one-third of the Union Army retreated north toward Chattanooga. Thomas rallied the remaining 30,000 men on Snodgrass Hill and Horseshoe Ridge and held out against 70,000 Confederates for four hours, refusing an initial order to retreat. Only when threatened with court martial did he finally conduct an orderly retreat with a proper rearguard action.^[1][2][3]

For political reasons, never was allowed to command an army in his own right. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York.

Further reading[edit]

• Cleaves, Freeman (1986) Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of General George H. Thomas, University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 0806119780

Notes[edit]