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Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of General George H. Thomas
General George H. Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," 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.
364 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
60 people want to read
About the author
Freeman Cleaves
4 books3 followersEducated at Bates College and the University of New Hampshire, Freeman Cleaves worked as a news reporter and financial writer for the weekly publication Financial World.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 17, 2022
A Basic Biography Of General George Thomas
An American hero, General George Thomas (1816 - 1870) remains unfamiliar to most Americans who do not have more than a casual interest in the Civil War. But Thomas deserves to be remembered as a soldier and as a man. Educated at West Point, Thomas served for the entire duration of the Civil War, primarily in the middle theater in Tennessee. Thomas planned carefully and methodically and endeavored to limit losses of his men. He was also resolute. His greatest military accomplishments came at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 where he courageously defended the retreating Union Army from what would have been a total defeat. He played an important role in the subsequent Union victory at Chattanooga. Late in the conflict, in 1864, Thomas won a near-total offensive victory against the Confederate Army of the Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood at Nashville.
Thomas deserves to be remembered even more for his character than for his military achievement. Born to a slaveholding family in Virginia, Thomas made his choice for the Union at the outset of the Civil War. From that point forward, most of his family had little to do with him. Thomas was unstintingly loyal to the Union cause. Although a military leader with the necessary ambition and self-regard for one in this position, Thomas was remarkably self-effacing. On several occasions he declined promotions which were offered to him due to his accomplishments. On other occasions, Thomas was passed over. Deeply disappointed at what he considered shabby treatment, Thomas persevered for the good of the Union cause. In other words, he was able to put his ego behind him. As the war progressed, Thomas became increasingly committed to civil rights for African Americans. African American troops played a key part in the victory at Nashville. Following the Civil War, Thomas served in the Reconstruction South where he tried to protect the rights of the Freedmen and to combat the growth of the mythology of the Lost Cause.
Highly reticent about his personal life, Thomas destroyed most of his personal letters because he wished only to be remembered for his accomplishments to the Union. In spite of this difficulty and of his relative obscurity, Thomas has been on the whole well-served by biographers especially of late. Biographies by Einolf, George Thomas: Virginian for the Union (Campaigns and Commanders) Bobrick, Master of War: The Life of General George H. Thomas and Broadwater General George H. Thomas: A Biography of the Union's "Rock of Chickamauga" have been published in the past three years. Another biography, Brian Wills' "George Henry Thomas: As True As Steel" was published in 2012. By reading authors with varying points of view, a consensus picture of Thomas gradually emerges.
In 1948, Freeman Cleaves wrote "Rock of Chickamauga", a biography of Thomas for an earlier generation of readers. The book is still in print. Cleaves also wrote books about Union general George Meade Meade of Gettysburg and about William Henry Harrison Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time (Signature Series). While not as detailed as the latter biographies of Thomas, Cleaves offers a good basic overview of Thomas' life and accomplishments. The book does not delve into letters and other sources used by later writers. But it covers adequately Thomas' youth, his education at West Point and service in the Mexican War and elsewhere prior to his decision to remain loyal to the Union. The major campaigns and battles in which Thomas participated, including Mill Springs, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Nashville and its aftermath are described adequately and to the purpose. Cleaves shows something of Thomas's relationships with Grant and Sherman and offers a highly laudatory account of Thomas' accomplishments. As do many subsequent biographers, Cleaves believes that Thomas' accomplishments were unjustly belittled by Grant, Sherman and others.
Unlike most other great Civil War leaders, Thomas had his own military command only rarely. Grant and Sherman praised Thomas as a defensive commander, but they wrote that Thomas tended to be overly cautious and slow. Modern supporters of Thomas tend to disagree and they argue that Grant and Sherman rewrote the history of the Civil War and their Memoirs and elsewhere to elevate their own accomplishments at the expense of Thomas. Cleaves seems on the whole to take this position, but not to the extent of, for example, Bobrick in his book.
I think the disputes about Thomas' military role as compared to Grant or Sherman are of secondary importance. As suggested above, the portrait of Thomas that emerges from multiple sources focuses upon his loyalty, his commitment to the Union, his careful judgment and his willingness to put aside grudges and slights when necessary to advance the public good. And Thomas became a progressive for his day in the matter of civil rights. These considerations, together with his significant military achievement, make Thomas an unquestioned hero who deserves to be remembered by Americans.
Cleaves book will be valuable to readers who want a single biography of Thomas without a welter of detail. It will also appeal to readers of more recent studies who want to get varied perspectives on a leader who is a proper subject of study and admiration.
Robin Friedman
An American hero, General George Thomas (1816 - 1870) remains unfamiliar to most Americans who do not have more than a casual interest in the Civil War. But Thomas deserves to be remembered as a soldier and as a man. Educated at West Point, Thomas served for the entire duration of the Civil War, primarily in the middle theater in Tennessee. Thomas planned carefully and methodically and endeavored to limit losses of his men. He was also resolute. His greatest military accomplishments came at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 where he courageously defended the retreating Union Army from what would have been a total defeat. He played an important role in the subsequent Union victory at Chattanooga. Late in the conflict, in 1864, Thomas won a near-total offensive victory against the Confederate Army of the Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood at Nashville.
Thomas deserves to be remembered even more for his character than for his military achievement. Born to a slaveholding family in Virginia, Thomas made his choice for the Union at the outset of the Civil War. From that point forward, most of his family had little to do with him. Thomas was unstintingly loyal to the Union cause. Although a military leader with the necessary ambition and self-regard for one in this position, Thomas was remarkably self-effacing. On several occasions he declined promotions which were offered to him due to his accomplishments. On other occasions, Thomas was passed over. Deeply disappointed at what he considered shabby treatment, Thomas persevered for the good of the Union cause. In other words, he was able to put his ego behind him. As the war progressed, Thomas became increasingly committed to civil rights for African Americans. African American troops played a key part in the victory at Nashville. Following the Civil War, Thomas served in the Reconstruction South where he tried to protect the rights of the Freedmen and to combat the growth of the mythology of the Lost Cause.
Highly reticent about his personal life, Thomas destroyed most of his personal letters because he wished only to be remembered for his accomplishments to the Union. In spite of this difficulty and of his relative obscurity, Thomas has been on the whole well-served by biographers especially of late. Biographies by Einolf, George Thomas: Virginian for the Union (Campaigns and Commanders) Bobrick, Master of War: The Life of General George H. Thomas and Broadwater General George H. Thomas: A Biography of the Union's "Rock of Chickamauga" have been published in the past three years. Another biography, Brian Wills' "George Henry Thomas: As True As Steel" was published in 2012. By reading authors with varying points of view, a consensus picture of Thomas gradually emerges.
In 1948, Freeman Cleaves wrote "Rock of Chickamauga", a biography of Thomas for an earlier generation of readers. The book is still in print. Cleaves also wrote books about Union general George Meade Meade of Gettysburg and about William Henry Harrison Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time (Signature Series). While not as detailed as the latter biographies of Thomas, Cleaves offers a good basic overview of Thomas' life and accomplishments. The book does not delve into letters and other sources used by later writers. But it covers adequately Thomas' youth, his education at West Point and service in the Mexican War and elsewhere prior to his decision to remain loyal to the Union. The major campaigns and battles in which Thomas participated, including Mill Springs, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Nashville and its aftermath are described adequately and to the purpose. Cleaves shows something of Thomas's relationships with Grant and Sherman and offers a highly laudatory account of Thomas' accomplishments. As do many subsequent biographers, Cleaves believes that Thomas' accomplishments were unjustly belittled by Grant, Sherman and others.
Unlike most other great Civil War leaders, Thomas had his own military command only rarely. Grant and Sherman praised Thomas as a defensive commander, but they wrote that Thomas tended to be overly cautious and slow. Modern supporters of Thomas tend to disagree and they argue that Grant and Sherman rewrote the history of the Civil War and their Memoirs and elsewhere to elevate their own accomplishments at the expense of Thomas. Cleaves seems on the whole to take this position, but not to the extent of, for example, Bobrick in his book.
I think the disputes about Thomas' military role as compared to Grant or Sherman are of secondary importance. As suggested above, the portrait of Thomas that emerges from multiple sources focuses upon his loyalty, his commitment to the Union, his careful judgment and his willingness to put aside grudges and slights when necessary to advance the public good. And Thomas became a progressive for his day in the matter of civil rights. These considerations, together with his significant military achievement, make Thomas an unquestioned hero who deserves to be remembered by Americans.
Cleaves book will be valuable to readers who want a single biography of Thomas without a welter of detail. It will also appeal to readers of more recent studies who want to get varied perspectives on a leader who is a proper subject of study and admiration.
Robin Friedman
November 8, 2009
This book was copyrighted in 1948, so it is over sixty years old. Many biographies of that vintage lose value as new information comes to light. However, this volume, authored by Freeman Cleaves, holds up pretty well. I prefer the more contemporary work by Einolf, "George Thomas: Virginian for the Union." For instance, the coverage of the battle at Nashville is much more detailed in the latter. Also, while Cleaves notes Thomas' concern for African-Americans during Reconstruction, consideration of that is, again, more detailed in Einolf's work. Nonetheless, Cleaves' book stands well on its own after the many years since its appearance.
Like standard biographies, the book begins with Thomas' childhood, including his family's avoiding Nat Turner and his associates during their short-lived rebellion. We see his career develop from West Point until the Civil War's end and beyond. Of special moment are the following: his remaining loyal to the Union even though he was a southerner; his first substantial victory at Mill Springs (his decision-making was solid, but still had room for further development), post-Shiloh combat (Corinth and Perryville and Stone's River [or Murfreesboro:]). He became a solid commander under William Rosecrans--culminating with his gallant stand as "The Rock of Chickamauga" during that desperate battle.
He finally assumed command of an army after Rosecrans' dismissal at Chattanooga, taking over the Army of the Cumberland. Then, the attack on Missionary Ridge; his role in Sherman's march to Atlanta, and--the culminating battle of his career at Nashville. At Nashville, Sherman had sent Thomas some troops; Thomas had to gather together a force from all over the region. Meanwhile John Bell Hood's Army of the Tennessee was marching north into Tennessee. Thomas pulled his various pieces of an army together for one of the most total victories in the Civil War. Then, his post-Civil War career. . . .
Again, the book still stands on its own, after so many years. It is surely not the best book on Thomas, but it makes its own contribution.
Like standard biographies, the book begins with Thomas' childhood, including his family's avoiding Nat Turner and his associates during their short-lived rebellion. We see his career develop from West Point until the Civil War's end and beyond. Of special moment are the following: his remaining loyal to the Union even though he was a southerner; his first substantial victory at Mill Springs (his decision-making was solid, but still had room for further development), post-Shiloh combat (Corinth and Perryville and Stone's River [or Murfreesboro:]). He became a solid commander under William Rosecrans--culminating with his gallant stand as "The Rock of Chickamauga" during that desperate battle.
He finally assumed command of an army after Rosecrans' dismissal at Chattanooga, taking over the Army of the Cumberland. Then, the attack on Missionary Ridge; his role in Sherman's march to Atlanta, and--the culminating battle of his career at Nashville. At Nashville, Sherman had sent Thomas some troops; Thomas had to gather together a force from all over the region. Meanwhile John Bell Hood's Army of the Tennessee was marching north into Tennessee. Thomas pulled his various pieces of an army together for one of the most total victories in the Civil War. Then, his post-Civil War career. . . .
Again, the book still stands on its own, after so many years. It is surely not the best book on Thomas, but it makes its own contribution.
September 28, 2013
General George H. Thomas was one of the most successful and important leaders of the Union Army during the Civil War, but these days few people outside of Civil War enthusiasts have ever heard of him. Thomas' relative obscurity is an injustice to such a remarkable man, although the man himself might not mind that much if he knew. Freeman Cleaves book, Rock of Chickamauga, stands as the seminal biography of this great American.
George Thomas was a man of remarkable, though often contradictory, nature. Cleaves' captures Thomas very well, and though obviously admiring, doesn't let his admiration overwhelm the biography. He had great military capability, was intensely loyal, just, brave, ambitious, humble, and a good subordinate and leader. He could also be taciturn, hot-tempered, and his pride easily wounded. The reader receives a good account of Thomas' formative years before the Civil War, his deliberate manner and tactical/strategic ability, his steadfast loyalty to the United States and his superior officers, his heroic rearguard action at the battle of Chickamauga (for which he received his famous moniker), his key roles in Union victories at Mill Springs, Stone's River, Chattanooga, and Nashville, and his efforts during Reconstruction.
The narrative is quite readable and entertaining, and the author makes good use of General Thomas' quotable remarks to add extra flavor. One example is the recounting of a staff officer asking Thomas where he might find him, after relaying an order to a subordinate during the height of the fighting at Chickamauga. Thomas merely rose in his saddle with a fierce expression on his face and replied, "Here!" Another moment revealing of Thomas' character is when he was approached by a subordinate about burying Union dead after a battle. The officer asked if the troops should be buried in sections by state, to which Thomas said, "Mix them all together. I am tired of states rights."
While the Cleaves book is a first-rate biography, it does have some issues and flaws. While the author is generally fair, he does occasionally overstep in criticizing Generals Sherman and Grant. He also refers to Sherman by his West Point nickname "Cump" throughout the narrative. The nickname is never explained (although I would guess it comes from his middle name, Tecumseh), and I've never seen it was before in a Civil War history or biography, let alone for a whole book! The final issue is a common enough one, the maps. While there are a good number, and they are fairly detailed, the way the opposing forces are represented on most of the maps is confusing and difficult to follow. A simpler set of symbols than the scheme used would have made the maps much more useful.
George Thomas was a man of remarkable, though often contradictory, nature. Cleaves' captures Thomas very well, and though obviously admiring, doesn't let his admiration overwhelm the biography. He had great military capability, was intensely loyal, just, brave, ambitious, humble, and a good subordinate and leader. He could also be taciturn, hot-tempered, and his pride easily wounded. The reader receives a good account of Thomas' formative years before the Civil War, his deliberate manner and tactical/strategic ability, his steadfast loyalty to the United States and his superior officers, his heroic rearguard action at the battle of Chickamauga (for which he received his famous moniker), his key roles in Union victories at Mill Springs, Stone's River, Chattanooga, and Nashville, and his efforts during Reconstruction.
The narrative is quite readable and entertaining, and the author makes good use of General Thomas' quotable remarks to add extra flavor. One example is the recounting of a staff officer asking Thomas where he might find him, after relaying an order to a subordinate during the height of the fighting at Chickamauga. Thomas merely rose in his saddle with a fierce expression on his face and replied, "Here!" Another moment revealing of Thomas' character is when he was approached by a subordinate about burying Union dead after a battle. The officer asked if the troops should be buried in sections by state, to which Thomas said, "Mix them all together. I am tired of states rights."
While the Cleaves book is a first-rate biography, it does have some issues and flaws. While the author is generally fair, he does occasionally overstep in criticizing Generals Sherman and Grant. He also refers to Sherman by his West Point nickname "Cump" throughout the narrative. The nickname is never explained (although I would guess it comes from his middle name, Tecumseh), and I've never seen it was before in a Civil War history or biography, let alone for a whole book! The final issue is a common enough one, the maps. While there are a good number, and they are fairly detailed, the way the opposing forces are represented on most of the maps is confusing and difficult to follow. A simpler set of symbols than the scheme used would have made the maps much more useful.
October 31, 2023
I read this book early in my journey through Civil War biographies. I was looking to read biographies of the lesser known Commanders in the Civil War that didn't get all the attention by historians. I actually read this almost immediately after reading
by William M. Lamers (no photo).
This book made a great companion piece to Lamers' book since Thomas took over command when Rosecrans was removed. I found this book to be an interesting reading giving Thomas overdue credit for his contribution to the successes on the Western Front. I'm actually interested now in revisiting Thomas through a more recent biography.
I also enjoyed Freeman Cleaves writing style enough to read his other book about General Meade.
by William M. Lamers (no photo).This book made a great companion piece to Lamers' book since Thomas took over command when Rosecrans was removed. I found this book to be an interesting reading giving Thomas overdue credit for his contribution to the successes on the Western Front. I'm actually interested now in revisiting Thomas through a more recent biography.
I also enjoyed Freeman Cleaves writing style enough to read his other book about General Meade.
July 20, 2017
Good defense of the general and good overview of his campaigns. Only issue was the unreconstructed view of Reconstruction, but wasn't bad for something from 1948.
March 14, 2024
Easy to read and very informative biography.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews