Edward Lloyd Thomas

For the Georgia land surveyor, father of the general, see Edward Lloyd Thomas (surveyor).

Edward Lloyd Thomas
Edward L. Thomas
Born	(1825-03-23)March 23, 1825 Clarke County, Georgia
Died	March 8, 1898(1898-03-08) (aged 72) McAlester, Oklahoma
Place of burial	Kiowa, Oklahoma
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Confederate States Army
Years of service	1847–48 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	35th Georgia Infantry Thomas's Brigade, ANV
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War American Civil War Battle of Beaver Dam Creek Seven Days Battles Second Battle of Bull Run Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox Campaign
Other work	planter, Land Bureau, Indian Bureau agent

Edward Lloyd Thomas (March 23, 1825 – March 8, 1898) was a Confederate brigadier general of infantry during the American Civil War from the state of Georgia. He was colonel of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment, which was assigned to Joseph R. Anderson's brigade, which became part of A.P. Hill's famed "Light Division." When Anderson left to take control of the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Thomas was promoted to brigadier general to command the brigade. He retained this position for the rest of the war and was present at all of the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia

Thomas was a graduate of Oxford College of Emory University and served in the Mexican-American War. He was an uncle to famed American Old West lawman Heck Thomas who helped bring down the Doolin Dalton Gang.

Early life

Thomas was born in Clarke County, Georgia, to Edward Lloyd Thomas (surveyor) and Mary Hogue, the youngest of eleven children. He was a graduate of Oxford College of Emory University and served in the Mexican-American War from May 1847 until August 1848 as a second lieutenant in an independent company of Georgia mounted men. Before serving he farmed in Whitfield County, Georgia. Three of his brothers were Confederate officers: Henry Philip (b. 1810) a colonel in the 16th Regiment of Georgia was killed in battle at Fort Sanders in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1863; Lovick Pierce Thomas, I (1812–1878) captain and quartermaster of the 35th Georgia Infantry resigned in 1863 due to injury; Wesley Wailes (1820–1906) served as a major in Phillip's Legion of Cavalry.

Civil War

After Georgia seceded, Thomas in October 1861 became colonel of the 35th Georgia Infantry. The regiment was assigned to Joseph R. Anderson's brigade, which became part of A.P. Hill's famed "Light Division." While commanding the regiment, Thomas was wounded at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) during the Seven Days Battles. However, the wound was not serious and Thomas remained on the field. When Anderson left to take control of the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Thomas was promoted to brigadier general to command the brigade. He retained this position for the rest of the war and was present at all of the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia.

When division commander William D. Pender was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, Thomas was the senior commander left in the division. It was said he was not promoted to division commander because, as a Georgian, he was not favored in a division that contained two North Carolina brigades. Whatever the reason, Thomas remained a brigade commander until Appomattox.

Postbellum career

After the war, Thomas returned to Georgia and farmed in Newton County near Covington. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed him to a position as a Special Agent of the Land Bureau in Kansas. Later he was made Indian Agent at the Sac and Fox Agency, Indian Territory, Oklahoma. He died 1898 in South McAlester, Indian Territory, and is buried in Kiowa, Oklahoma.

References

Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
Huff, Frederick Ware. Four Families: Winn, Thomas, Ware, Garrett of the Southern United States from 1600s to 1993. Kennesaw, GA: Frederick Ware Huff, 1993. OCLC 29382913.
Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

"Edward Lloyd Thomas". Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. Find a Grave. February 10, 1999. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
Short biography of Edward L. Thomas
35th Georgia
16th Georgia Infantry
Phillips' Legion

Gettysburg figures

Confederate leaders	Lee Alexander R. Anderson G. Anderson Archer Armistead Barksdale Benning Brockenbrough Chambliss Daniel Davis Doles Early Ewell Garnett Gordon Hampton Hays Heth Hill Hood Humphreys Imboden Iverson Jenkins Johnson J. Jones W. Jones Kemper Kershaw Lane Law F. Lee W. Lee Longstreet Mahone Marshall McLaws O'Neal Oates Pender Pettigrew Perrin Pickett Posey Ramseur Robertson Rodes Scales Semmes Smith G. Steuart J. E. B. Stuart Thomas Trimble J. Walker R. Walker Wilcox Wofford Wright

Union leaders	Meade Ames Ayres Barlow Barnes Baxter Biddle Birney Buford Caldwell Candy Carpenter Carr J. Chamberlain Claflin Cross Curtin Cushing Custer Cutler Crawford Doubleday Farnsworth Geary Gibbon Gilsa Graham Greene Gregg Hancock Harrow Hays Hooker Howard Humphreys Hunt Kilpatrick Krzyzanowski Lincoln Meredith Merritt Newton Nolan Paul Pleasonton Reynolds Rice Robinson Rowley Ruger Schimmelfennig Schurz Sedgwick Sickles Slocum Stannard Starr Steinwehr Sykes Tilton Tyler Vincent Wadsworth Ward Warren Weed Webb Willard Williams Zook

Other notable military personnel	Alger Avery Baker Belo Berdan Biddle Brooke Brown Bryan Burgwyn Burling Carroll Carter T. Chamberlain Colvill Corby Coster Dearing Devin Ellis Enderlin Lyon Fremantle Fry Gamble Garrard Godwin Goree Gregg Grimes Gwyn Hall Harrison Haskell Hazlett Howell Humiston Jeffords Jones Kelly Keogh Lang Latimer Lewis McCandless McDougall McFarland McIntosh Mayo Melcher Morrill Muhlenberg O'Rorke Pardee Pegram Perrin Poague Salomon Smith Sorrel Spear Stone Taylor Trobriand Wainwright Ward

Local civilians	Broadhead Bryan Burns McClean McConaughy McPherson Wade Wills

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