Stephen Thomas

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Stephen Thomas

Stephen Thomas (born December 6, 1809 in Bethel , Vermont , † December 18, 1903 in Montpelier , Vermont) was an American entrepreneur , lawyer and politician who was Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1867 to 1869 . He was an officer in the US Army during the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor .

Life

Thomas was born in Bethel, Vermont, to John and Rebecca Thomas. His father died in 1813 during the British-American War as a member of the 31st US Infantry Regiment. His grandfather Joseph served in a New Hampshire regiment during the American Revolution . Early on he had to give his widowed mother a hand. He completed an apprenticeship in the wool industry, then opened his own company. However, this was destroyed by fire and he established himself in the manufacturing industry in West Fairlee , Vermont. On January 13, 1831, he married Ann Peadody of Reading. She died in West Fairlee on January 8, 1877.

Political career

Thomas represented West Fairlee in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1838 to 1839, 1845 to 1846, and 1860 to 1861. He was Senator in the Vermont Senate for Orange County in 1848 and 1849 and a delegate to the Constituent Assemblies of 1843 and 1850. In probate for the district von Bradford he served from 1842 to 1846 and as a probate judge from 1847 to 1849.

Until the outbreak of the Civil War, Thomas was a member of the Democratic Party and a participant in the Democratic National Convention of 1848, a delegate for the next three meetings in 1852, 1856 and 1860, and a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor in 1860.

Governor Erastus Fairbanks convened an additional session of Congress on April 23, 1861, in which Thomas attended. He was a member of the Ways and Means Committee, which ruled over half a million dollars in military spending. In a passionate speech, Thomas pleaded for this amount to be doubled to one million US 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. "

"Until this insurrection is put down, I have no friends to reward and no enemies to beat, and I trust that the entire power and strength of the state of Vermont, both men and money, is on the field is thrown to support the government sustainably. "

- Stephen Thomas

After a spirited debate in Congress, the measure was approved unanimously. Thomas supported the passage of a law to pay each sergeant and soldier seven dollars a month in addition to their pay; this law was also enacted.

Military career

Thomas was appointed commander of the 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment on November 12, 1861 and set up this regiment. The regiment was placed under Benjamin Franklin Butler's brigade . The regiment was later placed under the Army of the Gulf and left Vermont on March 4, 1862. Thomas commanded the regiment until May 1863. He then became brigade commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX. Corps.

Part of the XIX. Corps, including the 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment, was assigned to VI in July 1864. Corps in the Shenandah Valley and took part in Major General Philip Sheridan's campaign against the Confederate Corps led by Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Earlys . Thomas led the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, consisting of 8th Vermont, 12th Cennecticut, 160th New York, and 47th Pennsylvania from October 15 to 24 and again from November 1 to December 3 Infantry regiment. In 1892 Thomas received the Medal of Honor for "Distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked" for his service during the battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864.

Thomas was promoted to Brigadier General of the Volunteers on February 1, 1865 and retired on August 24, 1865.

After the war

Thomas went to war as a Democrat, but returned from the war as a Republican. He refused to run for governor, but served as Lieutenant Governor under Governor John B. Page in 1867 and 1868. He was a delegate to the Soldiers' Meeting, and Ulysses S. Grant was a candidate for the presidency was nominated.

Of President Grant Thomas was appointed pension agent to a US 1870th He held this position for eight years. In the late 1880s, Thomas was President of the USA Clothes Pin Company in Montpelier, which had 15 employees and customers around the world. He was also President of the North Haverhill Granite Company.

He was also commander of the Vermont department of the Grand Army of the Republic and President of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, he was also Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States or MOLLUS through the Vermont Commandery.

General Thomas died in Montpelier, his grave is in Green Mount Cemetery.

literature

  • Benedict, GG: 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. Compiled by: the committee of publication. Boston, Press of Deland & Barta, 1886, extensive references.
  • 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, 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.
  • 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.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ 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. Page 299
  2. ↑ Childs, p. 508
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Stephen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, civil war officer, businessman, and lieutenant governor
DATE OF BIRTH December 6, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH Bethel , Vermont
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 1903
Place of death Montpelier , Vermont