In this revelatory, dynamic biography, one of our finest
historians, Benson Bobrick, profiles George H. Thomas, arguing that
he was the greatest and most successful general of the Civil War.
Because Thomas didn't live to write his memoirs, his reputation has
been largely shaped by others, most notably Ulysses S. Grant and
William Tecumseh Sherman, two generals with whom Thomas served and
who, Bobrick says, diminished his successes in their favor in their
own memoirs.
Born in Virginia, Thomas survived Nat Turner's rebellion as a
boy, then studied at West Point, where Sherman was a classmate.
Thomas distinguished himself in the Mexican War and then returned
to West Point as an instructor. When the Civil War broke out,
Thomas remained loyal to the Union, unlike fellow Virginia-born
officer Robert E. Lee (among others). He compiled an outstanding
record as an officer in battles at Mill Springs, Perryville, and
Stones River. At the Battle of Chickamauga, Thomas, at the time a
corps commander, held the center of the Union line under a
ferocious assault, then rallied the troops on Horseshoe Ridge to
prevent a Confederate rout of the Union army. His extraordinary
performance there earned him the nickname "The Rock of
Chickamauga."
Promoted to command of the Army of the Cumberland, he led his
army in a stunning Union victory at the Battle of Chattanooga.
Thomas supported Sherman on his march through Georgia in the spring
of 1864, winning an important victory at the Battle of Peachtree
Creek. As Sherman continued on his March to the Sea, Thomas
returned to Tennessee and in the battle of Nashville destroyed the
army of Confederate General John Bell Hood. It was one of the most
decisive victories of the war, and Thomas won it even as Grant was
on his way to remove Thomas from his command. (When Grant
discovered the magnitude of Thomas's victory, he quickly changed
his mind.) Thomas died of a stroke in 1870 while still on active
duty. In the entire Civil War, he never lost a battle or a
movement.
Throughout his career, Thomas was methodical and careful, and
always prepared. Unlike Grant at Shiloh, he was never surprised by
an enemy. Unlike Sherman, he never panicked in battle but always
remained calm and focused. He was derided by both men as "Slow Trot
Thomas," but as Bobrick shows in this brilliant biography, he was
quick to analyze every situation and always knew what to do and
when to do it. He was not colorful like Grant and Sherman, but he
was widely admired by his peers, and some, such as Grant's favorite
cavalry commander, General James H. Wilson, thought Thomas the peer
of any general in either army. He was the only Union commander to
destroy two Confederate armies in the field.
Although historians of the Civil War have always regarded Thomas
highly, he has never captured the public imagination, perhaps
because he has lacked an outstanding biographer -- until now. This
informed, judicious, and lucid biography at last gives Thomas his
due.
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