Editing George Henry Thomas (section)

==Antebellum military career==
Thomas's first assignment with his artillery regiment began in late 1840 at the primitive outpost of [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], in the [[Seminole Wars]], where his troops performed infantry duty. He led them in successful patrols and was appointed a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] [[First Lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] on November 6, 1841.<ref>Eicher, p. 527; Einolf, pp. 32–35.</ref> From 1842 until 1845, he served in posts at [[New Orleans]], [[Fort Moultrie]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston Harbor]], and [[Fort McHenry]] in [[Baltimore]]. With the [[Mexican–American War]] looming, his regiment was ordered to Texas in June 1845.<ref>Einolf, pp. 36–40.</ref>

In Mexico, Thomas led a gun crew with distinction at the battles of [[Siege of Fort Texas|Fort Brown]], [[Battle of Resaca de la Palma|Resaca de la Palma]], [[Battle of Monterrey|Monterrey]], and [[Battle of Buena Vista|Buena Vista]], receiving two more brevet promotions.<ref>Einolf, p. 55, and Cleaves, p. 43, refer to three brevet promotions. Eicher, p. 527, documents only two: brevet captain for Monterrey and brevet major for Buena Vista. Van Horne, p. 7, also lists only the two promotions.</ref> At Buena Vista, Gen. [[Zachary Taylor]] reported that "the services of the light artillery, always conspicuous, were more than unusually distinguished" during the battle. [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brig. Gen.]] [[John E. Wool]] wrote about Thomas and another officer that "without our artillery we would not have maintained our position a single hour." Thomas's battery commander wrote that Thomas's "coolness and firmness contributed not a little to the success of the day. Lieutenant Thomas more than sustained the reputation he has long enjoyed in his regiment as an accurate and scientific artillerist."<ref>Einolf, p. 54.</ref> During the war, Thomas served closely with an artillery officer who would be a principal antagonist in the Civil War—Captain [[Braxton Bragg]].<ref>Cleaves, pp. 24–42; Einolf, pp. 39–57.</ref>

Thomas was reassigned to Florida in 1849–50. In 1851, he returned to West Point as a cavalry and artillery instructor, where he established a close professional and personal relationship with another Virginia officer, [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lt. Col.]] [[Robert E. Lee]], the Academy superintendent. His appointment there was based in part on a recommendation from Braxton Bragg. Concerned about the poor condition of the Academy's elderly horses, Thomas moderated the tendency of cadets to overwork them during cavalry drills and became known as "Slow Trot Thomas". Two of Thomas's students who received his recommendation for assignment to the cavalry, [[J.E.B. Stuart]] and [[Fitzhugh Lee]], became prominent Confederate cavalry generals. Another Civil War connection was a cadet expelled for disciplinary reasons on Thomas's recommendation, [[John Schofield]], who would excoriate Thomas in postbellum writings about his service as a corps commander under Thomas in the [[Franklin-Nashville Campaign]]. On November 17, 1852, Thomas married Frances Lucretia Kellogg, age 31, from [[Troy, New York]]. The couple remained at West Point until 1854. Thomas was promoted to [[Captain (U.S. Army)|captain]] on December 24, 1853.<ref>Cleaves, pp. 48–51; Einolf, pp. 60–66; Eicher, p. 527. Cleaves claims that Thomas was assigned to the Academy in 1853 on the recommendation of William S. Rosecrans.</ref>

In the spring of 1854, Thomas's artillery regiment was transferred to California and he led two companies to San Francisco via the [[Isthmus of Panama]], and then on a grueling overland march to [[Fort Yuma]]. On May 12, 1855, Thomas was appointed a [[Major (United States)|major]] of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry (later re-designated the [[5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|5th U.S. Cavalry]]) by [[Jefferson Davis]], then [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. Once again, Braxton Bragg had provided a recommendation for Thomas's advancement. There was a suspicion as the Civil War drew closer that Davis had been assembling and training a combat unit of elite U.S. Army officers who harbored Southern sympathies, and Thomas's appointment to this regiment implied that his colleagues assumed he would support his native state of Virginia in a future conflict.<ref>Einolf, pp. 72–73.</ref> Thomas resumed his close ties with the second-in-command of the regiment, Robert E. Lee, and the two officers traveled extensively together on detached service for court-martial duty. In October 1857, Major Thomas assumed acting command of the cavalry regiment, an assignment he would retain for 2½ years. On August 26, 1860, during a clash with a [[Comanche]] warrior, Thomas was wounded by an arrow passing through the flesh near his chin area and sticking into his chest at Clear Fork, [[Brazos River]], [[Texas]]. Thomas pulled the arrow out and, after a surgeon dressed the wound, continued to lead the expedition. This was the only combat wound that Thomas suffered throughout his long military career.<ref>Einolf, pp. 72–79; Cleaves, pp. 56–61.</ref>

In November 1860, Thomas requested a one-year leave of absence. His antebellum career had been distinguished and productive, and he was one of the rare officers with field experience in all three combat arms—infantry, cavalry, and artillery. On his way home to southern Virginia, he suffered a mishap in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], falling from a train platform and severely injuring his back. This accident led him to contemplate leaving military service and caused him pain for the rest of his life. Continuing to New York to visit with his wife's family, Thomas stopped in Washington, D.C., and conferred with general-in-chief [[Winfield Scott]], advising Scott that Maj. Gen. [[David E. Twiggs]], the commander of the Department of Texas, harbored [[secession]]ist sympathies and could not be trusted in his post.<ref>Einolf, pp. 78–81; Cleaves, pp. 62–63.</ref> Twiggs did indeed surrender his entire command to Confederate authorities shortly after Texas seceded, and later served in the Confederate military.<ref name="TSHATwiggs">{{cite web |last1=Cutrer |first1=Thomas W. |last2=Smith |first2=David Paul |title=TSHA {{!}} Twiggs, David Emanuel |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/twiggs-david-emanuel |website=www.tshaonline.org |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=May 5, 2021 |location=Austin, TX}}</ref>