Full Name: George Henry Thomas
Nicknames: Slow Trot, Old Pap, The Rock of Chickamauga
Born: July 31, 1816 - Newsom's Depot, VA
Died: March 28, 1870 - San Francisco, CA
West Point Class: 1840 (12th of 42)
US Army Service: 1840-1870
Major Battles & Campaigns: Mill Springs, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta Campaign, Nashville
- A Southerner who refused to join the Confederacy, for which he ostracized by his Southern relatives for the rest of his life.
- Became famous for his performance at Chickamauga where he earned one of his nicknames for leading a successful defense at Snodgrass Hill, Horseshoe Ridge, and Kelly Field after part of the Union army collapsed.
- Nearly relieved of command before the Battle of Nashville for perceived over-cautiousness.
- Avoided politics, destroyed his private papers, and died of a stroke while still on active duty without having written his memoirs. These factors are part of the reason Thomas remains a subject of much debate amongst Civil War historians who consider him anywhere from mediocre to the second best Union general of the war.