GEORGE H. THOMAS – CITY NAMESAKE AND GREATEST UNION GENERAL IN THE CIVIL WAR – PART 2

Editor’s Note: In our May issue, we shared part one of this article written by contributor Mike Leising.

Thomas then trounced Hood in a surprise attack at Peachtree Creek.  Hood and Thomas faced off again in the Battle of Nashville.  If Hood prevailed, there would be nothing stopping him from marching on to the Ohio River, then down into Virginia to help Lee beat Grant.  After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863,  black soldiers began enlisting in the Union army.  Five months into 1864 over 130,000 African-Americans had been added to the ranks as soldiers, seamen, and laborers.  

In the Battle of Nashville everything had gone exactly as planned. Hood had lost thousands of soldiers while Thomas had lost relatively few. So many prisoners had been taken, that they had to be taken to the city to be housed. The black troops had been assigned to do this and when some prisoners complained “I’d rather die,” Thomas replied, “Say your prayers.”  The decisiveness of Thomas’ victory at Nashville showed in the 13,000 prisoners and 72 cannon that were taken.  Of Hood’s 55,000 men, only 8,000 made it back to the Confederate lines.  Thomas had lost only 3,157 of his 50,000 men.  Nashville was the most decisive victory by either side in the Civil War.  In the Battle of Nashville Thomas gave black troops their first prominent role in a major battle of the war.  After the war, blacks would point to Nashville as proof that they had earned  full citizenship rights. Like Lincoln, Thomas was not an abolitionist at the beginning of the was, but by the end had become one. 

After the war, Thomas testified to the Joint Committee on Reconstruction on several occasions.  He warned Washington about the secret organization  being formed to reinstate Confederate doctrine – the first to sound the alarm about the Ku Klux Klan.  Thomas was put in charge of Reconstruction in the states in which he had served. When possible he settled blacks on the estates of former slaveholders who had fled.  But in each case he saw to it that the lands were legally acquired. 

In retrospect, had Thomas not held on at Chickamauga, the Union would have never been able to occupy and hold Chattanooga – which became the base of operations for the whole Atlanta campaign.  Without the good news of Atlanta falling,  Lincoln may well have been defeated at the polls in 1864.   Throughout the Atlanta campaign, Thomas approved no movement that was a failure.

Only twice in all the Civil War was a major Confederate army driven from a prepared position in a complete rout – Chattanooga and Nashville.  Thomas was the only Union general to destroy 2 Confederate armies, and the only one to save 2 Union armies from annihilation by personal valor and skill.  Sherman never won a battle and Grant lost many lives while battering his way to victory with overwhelming force.  Thomas believed in preparation and follow through.  When he knew the time was right, he moved decisively. He often relaxed with his men and they all loved “Uncle George”.  He was often described as a determined soldier and beloved commander.  Fort Thomas, Kentucky should be very proud of its namesake.  

Bibliography:  Master of War  – The Life of George H. Thomas. By Benson Bobrick