Download or read book George Henry Thomas written by Brian Steel Wills and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2019-06-09 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although often counted among the Union's top five generals, George Henry Thomas has still not received his due. A Virginian who sided with the North in the Civil War, he was a more complicated commander than traditional views have allowed. Brian Wills now provides a new and more complete look at the life of a man known to history as "The Rock of Chickamauga," to his troops as "Old Pap," and to General William T. Sherman as a soldier who was "as true as steel." While biographers have long been hampered by Thomas's lack of personal papers, Wills has drawn on previously untapped sources—notably the correspondence of Thomas's contemporaries—to offer new insights into what made him tick. Focusing on Thomas's personality and motivations, Wills contributes revealing discussions of his style and approach to command and successfully captures his troubled interactions with other Union commanders, providing a particularly more evenhanded evaluation of his relationship with Grant. He also gives a more substantial account of battlefield action than can be found in other biographies, capturing the ebb and flow of key encounters—Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga and Atlanta, Stones River and Mill Springs, Peachtree Creek and Nashville—to help readers better understand Thomas's contributions to their outcomes. Throughout Wills presents a well-rounded individual whose complex views embraced the worlds of professional military service and scientific inquisitiveness, a man known for attention to detail and compassion to subordinates. We also meet a sharp-tempered person whose disdain for politics hurt his prospects for advancement as much as it reflected positively on his character, and Wills offers new insight into why Thomas might not have progressed as quickly up the ladder of command as he might have liked. More deeply researched than other biographies, Wills's work situates Thomas squarely in his own time to provide readers with a more thorough and balanced life story of this enigmatic Union general. It is a definitive military history that gives us a new and needed picture of the Rock of Chickamauga—a man whose devotion to duty and ideals made him as true as steel.

Download or read book Master of War written by Benson Bobrick and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2010-02-09 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • A first-rate historian: Benson Bobrick is the author of several celebrated books, including The Fated Sky and Testament . His work has been hailed as “Lucid and vivid” by The New Yorker , “elegant” by The Washington Post Book World , and “engrossing…detailed and gripping” by the Chicago Tribune . And The New York Times Book Review says, “Bobrick is perhaps the most interesting historian writing in America today.”. • A fascinating biography of an underappreciated American hero: George H. Thomas was, Bobrick argues, the greatest general of the Civil War. Known as the Rock of Chickamauga, Thomas was regarded by his contemporaries as the equal of Grant and Sherman. In the entire Civil War, he never lost a battle or a movement, and he was the only Union commander to destroy two Confederate armies in the field. But Thomas never wrote a memoir and history neglected him. Until now. . • Powerfully told and grippingly rendered: With his characteristic flair for drama and fast-paced writing, Bobrick takes readers onto the battlefields, into the smoke of gunpowder and the stench of bodies. From the parade grounds of West Point to the bloody Battle of Chattanooga, Bobrick masterfully renders every detail, right down to the buckles on Thomas’s boots and the courage in his heart. Backed by scholarly research, this informed and vivid biography at last brings Thomas’s tale to readers everywhere..

Download or read book Rock of Chickamauga written by Freeman Cleaves and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1986 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: General George H. Thomas, the “Rock of Chickamauga” of the history books, was a Virginian who chose the northern side in the Civil War. While Thomas was considered a traitor by his family, his military superiors regarded him with a certain mistrust because of his southern background. Nonetheless, Thomas was prominent in the battles of Mill Springs, Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, and Nashville, and was immortalized at Chickamauga, where he tenaciously held the field until ordered to withdraw.

Download or read book General George H Thomas written by Robert P. Broadwater and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-06-08 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the Civil War's most successful generals is heralded by military historians but never achieved the lasting fame of Grant, Lee, Jackson or Sherman. George Thomas's Southern birth, the ambition of fellow officers, and his action in the less-publicized Western Theater combined to keep him from attaining recognition. This comprehensive biography focuses on the military career that covered such battlegrounds as Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Nashville, as well as the political maneuvers that kept Thomas out of the spotlight.

Download or read book George Thomas written by Christopher J. Einolf and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2012-11-09 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the North’s greatest generals—the Rock of Chickamauga Most Southerners in the U.S. Army resigned their commissions to join the Confederacy in 1861. But at least one son of a distinguished, slaveholding Virginia family remained loyal to the Union. George H. Thomas fought for the North and secured key victories at Chickamauga and Nashville. Thomas’s wartime experiences transformed him from a slaveholder to a defender of civil rights. Remembered as the “Rock of Chickamauga,” Thomas became one of the most prominent Union generals and was even considered for overall command of the Union Army in Virginia. Yet he has been eclipsed by such names as Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. Offering vivid accounts of combat, Einolf depicts the fighting from Thomas’s perspective to allow a unique look at the real experience of decision making on the battlefield. He examines the general’s recurring confrontations with the Union high command to make a strong case for Thomas’s integrity and competence, even as he exposes Thomas’s shortcomings and poor decisions. The result is a more balanced, nuanced picture than has previously been available. Probing Thomas’s personal character, Einolf reveals how a son of the South could oppose the views of friends and family. George Thomas: Virginian for the Union offers a fresh appraisal of an important career and lends new insight into the inner conflicts of the Civil War.

Download or read book Major General George H Thomas written by John Watts De Peyster and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Life of Major General George H Thomas written by Thomas Budd Van Horne and published by . This book was released on 1882 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book General George H Thomas written by Donn Piatt and published by . This book was released on 1893 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Education in Violence written by Francis F. McKinney and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biography of a native Virginian who became a major general in the Union army.

Download or read book The Warrior Generals written by Thomas Buell and published by Crown. This book was released on 1998-03-31 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: master historian gives readers a fresh new picture of the Civil War as it really was. Buell examines three pairs of commanders from the North and South, who met each other in battle. Following each pair through the entire war, the author reveals the human dimensions of the drama and brings the battles to life. 38 b&w photos.

Download or read book Master of War written by Benson Bobrick and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-02-04 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book General George H Thomas written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the Civil War's most successful generals is heralded by military historians but never achieved the lasting fame of Grant, Lee, Jackson or Sherman. George Thomas's Southern birth, the ambition of fellow officers, and his action in the less-public.

Download or read book The Battle of Peach Tree Creek written by Earl J. Hess and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2017-08-09 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On July 20, 1864, the Civil War struggle for Atlanta reached a pivotal moment. As William T. Sherman's Union forces came ever nearer the city, the defending Confederate Army of Tennessee replaced its commanding general, removing Joseph E. Johnston and elevating John Bell Hood. This decision stunned and demoralized Confederate troops just when Hood was compelled to take the offensive against the approaching Federals. Attacking northward from Atlanta's defenses, Hood's men struck George H. Thomas's Army of the Cumberland just after it crossed Peach Tree Creek on July 20. Initially taken by surprise, the Federals fought back with spirit and nullified all the advantages the Confederates first enjoyed. As a result, the Federals achieved a remarkable defensive victory. Offering new and definitive interpretations of the battle's place within the Atlanta campaign, Earl J. Hess describes how several Confederate regiments and brigades made a pretense of advancing but then stopped partway to the objective and took cover for the rest of the afternoon on July 20. Hess shows that morale played an unusually important role in determining the outcome at Peach Tree Creek--a soured mood among the Confederates and overwhelming confidence among the Federals spelled disaster for one side and victory for the other.

Download or read book History of the Army of the Cumberland written by Thomas Budd Van Horne and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nashville written by James L. McDonough and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's forces ravaged Atlanta in 1864, Ulysses S. Grant urged him to complete the primary mission Grant had given him: to destroy the Confederate Army in Georgia. Attempting to draw the Union army north, General John Bell Hood's Confederate forces focused their attacks on Sherman's supply line, the railroad from Chattanooga, and then moved across north Alabama and into Tennessee. As Sherman initially followed Hood's men to protect the railroad, Hood hoped to lure the Union forces out of the lower South and, perhaps more important, to recapture the long-occupied city of Nashville. Though Hood managed to cut communication between Sherman and George H. Thomas's Union forces by placing his troops across the railroads south of the city, Hood's men were spread over a wide area and much of the Confederate cavalry was in Murfreesboro. Hood's army was ultimately routed. Union forces pursued the Confederate troops for ten days until they recrossed the Tennessee River. The decimated Army of Tennessee (now numbering only about 15,000) retreated into northern Alabama and eventually Mississippi. Hood requested to be relieved of his command. Less than four months later, the war was over. Written in a lively and engaging style, Nashville presents new interpretations of the critical issues of the battle. James Lee McDonough sheds light on how the Union army stole past the Confederate forces at Spring Hill and their subsequent clash, which left six Confederate generals dead. He offers insightful analysis of John Bell Hood's overconfidence in his position and of the leadership and decision-making skills of principal players such as Sherman, George Henry Thomas, John M. Schofield, Hood, and others. Within the pages of Nashville, McDonough's subjects, both common soldiers and officers, present their unforgettable stories in their own words. Unlike most earlier studies of the battle of Nashville, McDonough's account examines the contributions of black Union regiments and gives a detailed account of the battle itself as well as its place in the overall military campaign. Filled with new information from important primary sources and fresh insights, Nashville will become the definitive treatment of a crucial battleground of the Civil War. James Lee McDonough is retired professor of history from Auburn University. He is the author of numerous books on the Civil War, including Shiloh--In Hell Before Night, Chattanooga--Death Grip on the Confederacy, and War in Kentucky: From Shiloh to Perryville.

Download or read book Life of Major General George H Thomas written by and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 667 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Manuscript copy of Van Horne's biography of Major-General George H. Thomas, leader in the Union Army during the Civil War. This manuscript varies somewhat from the published edition.

Download or read book Memoir of Maj Gen George H Thomas written by Richard W. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: