Edward Lloyd Thomas | |
|---|---|
 Edward L. Thomas | |
| Born | (1825-03-23)March 23, 1825 |
| Died | March 8, 1898(1898-03-08) (aged 72) |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Service years | 1847–48 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA) |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Commands |  35th Georgia InfantryThomas's Brigade,ANV |
| Conflicts | Mexican–American War American Civil War |
| Other work | planter, Land Bureau,Indian Bureau agent |
Edward Lloyd Thomas (March 23, 1825 – March 8, 1898) was aConfederatebrigadier general ofinfantry during theAmerican Civil War from the state ofGeorgia. He wascolonel of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment, assigned toJoseph R. Anderson'sbrigade, which became part ofA.P. Hill's famed "Light Division". When Anderson left to take control of theTredegar Iron Works inRichmond, Thomas was promoted tobrigadier 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 theArmy of Northern Virginia.
Thomas was a graduate ofOxford College of Emory University and served in theMexican–American War. He was an uncle to famedOld WestlawmanHeck Thomas, who helped bring down theDoolin–Dalton Gang.
Thomas was born inClarke County, Georgia, to Mary Thomas (née Hogue) andEdward Lloyd Thomas (surveyor) through whom he was descended fromEdmund Thomas of Glamorgan.[1] Edward Lloyd Thomas was the youngest of eleven children. He was a graduate ofOxford College of Emory University and served in theMexican–American War from May 1847 until August 1848 as asecond lieutenant in an independent company of Georgia mounted men. Before serving he farmed inWhitfield County, Georgia. Three of his brothers were Confederate officers: Henry Philip Thomas (b. 1810), a colonel in the 16th Regiment of Georgia, was killed in battle atFort Sanders inKnoxville, Tennessee, in 1863;Lovick Pierce Thomas, I (1812–1878), captain and quartermaster of the 35th Georgia Infantry, resigned in 1863 due to injury; and Wesley Wailes Thomas (1820–1906) served as a major in Phillip's Legion of Cavalry.
In October 1861, Thomas becamecolonel of the 35th Georgia Infantry. Theregiment was attached to Brigadier GeneralJoseph R. Anderson'sbrigade, which was initially stationed in Georgia but during the Peninsula Campaign was sent to the Richmond area to reinforceJoe Johnston's army. On May 27, 1862, the brigade was added to the newly created division of Major GeneralA.P. Hill, soon to be known as the "Light Division". While commanding the regiment, Thomas suffered a minor wound at theBattle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) during theSeven Days Battles. Anderson was wounded atGlendale and afterwards resigned his commission to manage theTredegar Iron Works inRichmond. Thomas then became permanent commander of the brigade, and on November 1 he was promoted to brigadier general, participating in all of the major battles and campaigns fought by the Army of Northern Virginia.
Whendivision commanderWilliam D. Pender was mortally wounded atGettysburg, the two ranking brigade commanders left in the division were Thomas andJames H. Lane. Although both had been promoted to brigadier general the same day (November 1, 1862), Lane had received his colonel's commission in September 1861, a month before Thomas had become a colonel, and thus Lane outranked him and assumed temporary command of the division. It has been suggested that as a Georgian, Thomas was not favored in a division with two North Carolina brigades. He remained in command of his brigade until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865.
After the war, Thomas returned to Georgia and farmed inNewton County nearCovington. In 1885,PresidentGrover Cleveland appointed him to a position as a Special Agent of the Land Bureau in Kansas. Later he was madeIndian Agent at theSac and Fox Agency,Indian Territory,Oklahoma. After being in poor health for some time, Thomas died on March 8, 1898, inSouth McAlester, Indian Territory, and is buried inKiowa, Oklahoma.
