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Biographies
Source:
A Biographical History
of
Preble County, Ohio.
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Compendium of National Biography
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Illustrated
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Chicago
The Lewis Publishing Company
1900
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GEORGE H. THOMAS,
the “Rock of Chickamauga,” one of the best known commanders
during the late Civil war, was born in Southampton county,
Virginia, July 31, 1816, his parents being of Welsh and French
origin respectively. In 1836 young Thomas was
appointed a cadet at the Military Academy, at West Point, from
which he graduated in 1840, and was promoted to the office of
second lieutenant in the Third Artillery. Shortly after,
with his company, he went to Florida, where he served for two
years against the Seminole Indians. In 1841 he was
brevetted first lieutenant for gallant conduct. He
remained in garrison in the south and southwest until 1845, a
which date with the regiment he joined the army under General
Taylor, and participate ed in the defense of Fort Brown,
the storming of Monterey and the battle of Buena Vista.
After the latter event he remained in garrison, now brevetted
major, until the close of the Mexican war. After a year
spent in Florida, Captain Thomas was ordered to
West Point, where he served as instructor until 1854. He
then was transferred to California. In May, 1855,
Thomas was appointed major of the Second Cavalry, with whom
he spent five years in Texas. Although a southern man, and
surrounded by brother officers who all were afterwards in the
Confederate service, Major Thomas never swerved
from his allegiance to the government. A. S. Johnston
was the colonel of the regiment, R. E. Lee the
lieutenant-colonel, and W. J. Hardee, senior major, while
among the younger officers were Hood, Fitz Hugh
Lee, Van Dorn and Kirby Smith.
When these officers left the regiment to take up arms for the
Confederate cause he remained with it, and Apr. 17th, 1861,
crossed the Potomac into his native state, at its head.
After taking an active part in the opening scenes of the war on
the Potomac and Shenandoah, in August, 1861, he was promoted to
be brigadier-general and transferred to the Army of the
Cumberland. Jan. 19-20, 1862, Thomas defeated
Crittenden at Mill Springs, and this brought him into notice
and laid the foundation of his fame. He continued in
command of his division until Sept. 20, 1862, except during the
Corinth campaign when he commanded the right wing of the Army of
the Tennessee. He was in command of the latter at the
battle of Perryville, also, Oct. 8, 1862.
On the division of the Army of the Cumberland into
corps, Jan. 9, 1863, General Thomas was assigned to the
command of the Fourteenth, and at the battle of Chickamauga,
after the retreat of Rosecrans, firmly held his own against the
hosts of General Bragg. A history of his
services from that on would be a history of the war in the
southwest. On Sept. 27, 1864, General Thomas was
given command in Tennessee, and after organizing his army,
defeated General Hood in the battle of Nashville,
Dec. 15 and 16, 1864. Much complaint was made before this
on account of what they termed Thomas’ slowness, and he
was about to be superseded because he would not strike until he
got ready, but when the blow was struck General Grant
was the first to place on record this vindication of Thomas’
judgment. He received a vote of thanks from Congress, and
from the legislature of Tennessee a gold medal. After the
close of the war General Thomas had command of
several of the military divisions, and died at San Francisco,
California, Mar. 28, 1870.
Source: A Biographical History of
Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated - Published 1900 - Page 73 |
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THEODORE THOMAS,
one of the most celebrated musical directors America has known,
was born in the kingdom of Hanover in 1835, and received his
musical education from his father. He was a very apt
scholar and played the violin at public concerts at the age of
six years. He came with his parents to America in 1845,
and joined the orchestra of the Italian Opera in New York City.
He played the first violin in the orchestra which accompanied
Jenny Lind in her first American concert. In
1861 Mr. Thomas established the orchestra that
became famous under his management, and gave his first symphony
concerts in New York in 1864. He began his first “summer
night concerts” in the same city in 1868, and in 1869 he started
on his first tour of the principal cities in the United States,
which he made every year for many years. He was
director of the College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, but
resigned in 1880, after having held the position for three
years.
Later he organized one of the greatest and most
successful orchestras ever brought together in the city of
Chicago, and was very prominent in musical affairs during the
World’s Columbian Exposition, thereby adding greatly to his
fame.
Source: A Biographical History of
Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated - Published 1900 - Page 172 |
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BENJAMIN RYAN TILLMAN,
who won a national fame in politics, was born Aug. 11,
1847, Edgefield county, South Carolina. He received his
education in the Oldfield school, where he acquired the
rudiments of Latin and Greek, in addition to a good English
education. He left school in 1864 to join the Confederate
army, but was prevented from doing so by a severe illness, which
resulted in the loss of an eye. In 1867 he removed to
Florida, but returned in 1868, when he was married and devoted
himself to farming. He was chairman of the Democratic
organization of his county, but except a few occasional services
he took no active part in politics then. Gradually,
however, his attention was directed to the depressed condition
of the farming interests of his state, and in August, 1885,
before a joint meeting of the agricultural society and state
grange at Bennettsville, he made a speech in which he set forth
the cause of agricultural depression and urged measures of
relief. From his active interest in the farming class he
was styled the “ Agricultural Moses.” He advocated an
industrial school for women and for a separate agricultural
college, and in 1887 he secured a modification in the final
draft of the will of Thomas G. Clemson, which
resulted in the erection of the Clemson Agricultural College at
Fort Hill. In 1890 he was chosen governor on the
Democratic ticket, and carried the election by a large majority.
Governor Tillman was inaugurated Dec. 4, 1890.
Mr. Tillman was next elected to the United States
senate from South Carolina, and gained a national reputation by
his fervid oratory.
Source: A Biographical History
of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated - Published 1900 - Page 119 |
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