Thomas, Charles (U.S. Army Officer)

Born: 1797-04-13 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died: 1878-02-01 Washington, D.C.

Thomas was a U.S. Army officer. He joined the military as a brevet second lieutenant (third lieutenant) of ordnance in August 1819. In June 1821, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the Fourth Artillery. He transferred to the Third Artillery in August 1821 and to the Seventh Infantry in October 1822. He earned promotion to first lieutenant in March 1824, to captain in April 1833, and to major in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in July 1838. During the Mexican War, he was breveted lieutenant colonel for gallant and meritorious service while serving in enemy territory. In May 1850, he received promotion to lieutenant colonel and deputy quartermaster general. He advanced to colonel and assistant quartermaster general in August 1856. During the Civil War, he served as assistant and acting quartermaster general. In July 1864, he was breveted brigadier general for faithful and meritorious service during the war, and in March 1865, he was breveted major general for his work in the Quartermaster Corps. He retired from the Army in 1866.

Gravestone, Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC; Roger D. Hunt and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, rev. ed. (Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldiers Books, 1997), 609; Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1903), 1:953.