Brigadier General Alfred Eugene Jackson and Colonel William Holland Thomas

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Brigadier General Alfred Eugene Jackson and Colonel William Holland Thomas
(Command Rivalry)

During the Civil War, William Thomas was court-martialed three times.
 

Regarding Thomas's court-martials, President Davis wrote that they were "disingenuous and destructive to the Confederate cause."

 

Thomas's Civil War Strategy was the basis for his court-martials. In the summer of 1863, while assigned to Brigadier General Alfred Eugene "Old Mudwall" Jackson's command, Colonel Thomas was arrested and awaiting court-martial. Colonel Thomas' Legion had been reorganized into Jackson's Brigade, and Jackson's Brigade consisted of Thomas' Legion only (O.R., Series 1, Volume 29, pt. II, p. 812, O.R., 31, 1, p. 454, and O.R., Series 1, Vol. 33, p. 1137). Was it a legion or a brigade? This confusing command structure was highly contested, so General Jackson had Thomas arrested in June of 1863 and charged with "disobedience of orders." Thomas was sent to Knoxville, Tennessee, awaiting trial, but Union General Ambrose Burnside's East Tennessee invasion intervened and, as a consequence, Thomas' Legion was reassigned thus defusing the situation.

Another court-martial was to occur on February 23, 1864, because of the capture of General Robert B. Vance, brother to North Carolina Governor Zebulon Baird Vance. Leaving Colonel Thomas at Gatlinburg, General Vance proceeded to Sevierville and was captured because he failed to post pickets and not as a result of Colonel Thomas disobeying orders. General Vance remained in a Federal prison until the war ended and even conceded that his capture was a misunderstanding of orders. However, regarding the capture of Vance, Colonel John B. Palmer stated that Lt. Col. James L. Henry, and not Thomas, should be court-martialed (O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, pt. 1, p. 76). James Seddon, the Confederate Secretary of War, believed Vance was partially responsible for his own capture. Regarding Vance's capture, Jefferson Davis wrote, "...no action is practicable which seems proper" (O.R., 32, 1, p. 77). And, on behalf of Thomas, President Jefferson Davis intervened, the charges were dismissed, and no trial was held.
Furthermore, prior to the war, the Vances were bitter rivals of Senator Thomas and they even held opposite views on the "ad valorem tax" and senate railroad bills which promoted their bitter rivalry. According to official records and reports, Thomas was not responsible for Robert Vance's capture. However, Zebulon believed there was culpability and used his brother's capture as an opportunity to punish his rival. Zebulon Vance was North Carolina's Governor (1862-1865 and 1876-1878) and also served in the United States Senate (1879-1894).
On May 11, 1864, Colonel Thomas was charged with receiving deserters from the 65th North Carolina Regiment between September 1863 and April 1864. On this occasion, however, General Jackson was  'relieved of his command' and sent to the Army of Tennessee. Again, there was no court-martial. In October of 1864 the trial resumed and Colonel Thomas was found guilty of all charges. This court-martial combined a prior court-martial with four additional charges. As with prior charges, Colonel Thomas appealed to his dear friend, President Jefferson Davis. Mr. Davis once more reversed the charges and Colonel Thomas was exonerated.

Jackson's Brigade
 
Additional official records and information regarding Thomas' Legion, Walker's Battalion, and Brig. Gen. A. E. Jackson.

Original Text, Spelling, and Footnotes:

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Vol. 32, Part III, 802:

Organization of Buckner’s Division, Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson, C. S. Army, commanding, April 20, 1864.•
Jackson’s Brigade.
Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Jackson.
Thomas’ regiment,++ Lieut. Col. James R. Love.
Walker’s battalion,++ Lieut. Col. James A. Mckamy.
Levi’s (Virginia) battery.
Burroughs’ (Tennessee) battery.
McClung’s (Tennessee) battery.

Johnson’s Brigade.
Col. John S. Fulton.
17th Tennessee, Col. R. H. Keeble.
23rd Tennessee, Col. R. H. Keeble.
25th Tennessee, Lieut. Col. John L. McEwen, jr.
44th Tennessee, Lieut. Col. John L. McEwen, jr.
63d Tennessee, Col. Abraham Folkerson.
Detachments, + Capt. Nathan Dodd.

Gracie’s Brigade
Brig. Gen. Archibald Gracie, Jr.
41st Alabama, Col. Martin L. Stansel.
43rd Alabama, Lieut. Col. John J. Jolly.
59th Alabama, Col. Bolling Hall, jr.
60th Alabama, Maj. Hatch Cook.
23rd Alabama, Battalion Sharpshooters, Maj. Nicholas Stallworth.

++ Otherwise known as the Thomas (North Carolina) Legion
+ From the Sixteenth Georgia Battalion and the Third, Thirty-first, Forty-third, Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Tennessee Regiments.
• As shown by inspection reports of Lieu. Col. Archer Anderson, assistant adjutant-general. Jackson’s brigade at Carter’s Depot, the others near Zollicoffer.

Editor's Notes:

There are a few records reflecting "Thomas’ regiment, North Carolina" and "Thomas’ regiment, North Carolina Volunteers." Notice the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies adds a footnote when it records Thomas’ regiment, North Carolina. The footnotes in the Official Records clarify the command by recording "otherwise known as the Thomas (North Carolina) Legion." This evidence reinforces the command rivalry between A. E. Jackson and William H. Thomas. This is recorded in Lt. Colonel William Stringfield’s writings: “It appears that Jackson broke up the Legion in order to make it a brigade and call it his Brigade.” Also, the organization demotes the “Legion” by stating “regiment.” When you view the brigade, it includes Thomas' Legion and Thomas' entire Legion. The regiment, battalion, and artillery battery are core of the brigade and Thomas' entire Legion. Otherwise, if Brig. Gen. A. E. Jackson called it a Legion, the Brigade designation would have little merit or value. Also see: Thomas' Regiment: O.R., Series 1, Volume 33, p. 1137.

Recommended Reading: Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) (Hardcover: 952 pages). Description: Published in 1988 to universal acclaim, this single-volume treatment of the Civil War quickly became recognized as the new standard in its field. James M. McPherson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, impressively combines a brisk writing style with an admirable thoroughness. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War including the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. It flows into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering by each side, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as Manifest Destiny, Popular Sovereignty, Sectionalism, and slavery expansion issues in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. Continued below...

The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict. The South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war, slavery, and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty. . Perhaps more than any other book, this one belongs on the bookshelf of every Civil War buff.

 

Recommended Reading: East Tennessee and the Civil War (Hardcover: 588 pages). Description: A solid social, political, and military history, this work gives light to the rise of the pro-Union and pro-Confederacy factions. It explores the political developments and recounts in fine detail the military maneuvering and conflicts that occurred. Beginning with a history of the state's first settlers, the author lays a strong foundation for understanding the values and beliefs of East Tennesseans. He examines the rise of abolition and secession, and then advances into the Civil War. Continued below...

Early in the conflict, Union sympathizers burned a number of railroad bridges, resulting in occupation by Confederate troops and abuses upon the Unionists and their families. The author also documents in detail the ‘siege and relief’ of Knoxville. Although authored by a Unionist, the work is objective in nature and fair in its treatment of the South and the Confederate cause, complete with a comprehensive index, this work should be in every Civil War library.

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Highly Recommended Reading: Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers (Thomas' Legion: The Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment). Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains, spent 10 years conducting extensive Thomas Legion's research. Crow was granted access to rare manuscripts, special collections, and privately held diaries which add great depth to this rarely discussed Civil War legion. He explores and discusses the unit's formation, fighting history, and life of the legion's commander--Cherokee chief and Confederate colonel--William Holland Thomas. Continued below...

Numerous maps and photographs allow the reader to better understand and relate to the subjects discussed. It also contains rosters which is an added bonus for researchers and genealogists. Crow, furthermore, left no stone unturned while examining the many facets of the Thomas Legion and his research is conveyed on a level that scores with Civil War students and scholars alike.

 

NEW! North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster (Volume XVI: Thomas's Legion) (Hardcover, 537 pages), North Carolina Office of Archives and History (June 26, 2008). Description: The volume begins with an authoritative 246-page history of Thomas's Legion. The history, including Civil War battles and campaigns, is followed by a complete roster and service records of the field officers, staff, and troops that served in the legion. A thorough index completes the volume. Continued below...

Volume XVI of North Carolina Troops: A Roster contains the history and roster of the most unusual North Carolina Confederate Civil War unit, significant because of the large number of Cherokee Indians who served in its ranks. Thomas's Legion was the creation of William Holland Thomas, an influential businessman, state legislator, and Cherokee chief. He initially raised a small battalion of Cherokees in April 1862, and gradually expanded his command with companies of white soldiers raised in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Virginia. By the end of 1862, Thomas's Legion comprised an infantry regiment and a battalion of infantry and cavalry. An artillery battery was added in April 1863. Furthermore, in General Early's Army of the Valley, the Thomas Legion was well-known for its fighting prowess. It is also known for its pivotal role in the last Civil War battle east of the Mississippi River. The Thomas Legion mustered more than 2,500 soldiers and it closely resembled a brigade. With troop roster, muster records, and Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR) this volume is also a must have for anyone interested in genealogy and researching Civil War ancestors. Simply stated, it is an outstanding source for genealogists.

Bibliography:
 

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Walter Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865; National Park Service: American Civil War; National Park Service: Soldiers and Sailors System; Weymouth T. Jordan and Louis H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865; D. H. Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865; Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers; Vernon H. Crow, The Justness of Our Cause; E. Stanly Godbolt, Jr. and Mattie U. Russell, Confederate Colonel and Cherokee Chief: The Life of William Holland Thomas; The Civil War Diary of William W. Stringfield, Johnson City, TN: East Tennessee Historical Society Publications; and John R. Finger, The Eastern Band of Cherokees.

General Alfred Eugene Jackson History Photo, A E Jackson’s Brigade Civil War History, Confederate Order of Battle Department of East Tennessee Organization, East Tennessee Civil War Mountains History

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