A joint resolution was passed by Congress, expressing the deepest regret at his unexpected decease, and acknowledging his unbroken and patriotic services for a period of thirty years, and his unfailing zeal and faith. in the maintenance of the Union and the integrity of the Government. A general order from the headquarters of the army was issued by General Sherman, detailing some of the leading incidents of his life, and paying a most warm and generous tribute to his memory. In it General Sherman said:

"The General has known General Thomas intimately since they sat as boys on the same bench, and the quality in him which he holds up for the admiration and example of the young, is his complete and entire devotion to duty. Though sent to Florida, to Mexico, to Texas, to Arizona, when duty there was absolute banishment, he went cheerfully, and never asked a personal favor, exemption, or leave of absence. In battle he never wavered. Firm and full of faith in his cause, he knew it would prevail, and he never sought advancement of rank or honor at the expense of any one. Whatever he earned of these were his own, and no one disputes his fame. The very personification of honesty, integrity, and honor, he will stand to us as the beau ideal of the soldier and the gentleman. Though he leaves no child to bear his name, the old Army of the Cumberland, numbered by tens of thousands, called him Father, and will weep for him in tears of manly grief. His wife, who cheered him with her messages of love in the darkest hours of woe, will mourn him in sadness chastened by the sympathy of a whole country."

It has been well remarked of General Thomas that his growth and development for high command were gradual, and that he was fully prepared by actual experience for each successive step of advancement in his whole military career. He held every position in the regular army, from second lieutenant to major-general, and held each in regular order. General Garfield, in his very eloquent address at Cleveland, in 1870, speaking on this subject,

says:

i

"In the army he never leaped a grade either in rank or command. He did not command a company until after long service as a lieutenant. He commanded a regiment only at the end of many years of company and garrison duty. He did not command a brigade until he had commanded his regiment three years on the Indian frontier. He did not command a division until he had mustered in, organized, and commanded a brigade. He did not command a corps until he had led his division in battle and through many hundred miles of hostile country. He did not command an army until in battle, at the head of his corps, he had saved it from ruin."

General Thomas will be especially remembered as having been uniformly successful. In every battle and campaign where he had chief command, he was signally fortunate, and his victories were always decisive and complete. He did not owe this success to chance. It was no lucky accident by which at Chickamauga he saved the army from destruction, and at Nashville destroyed finally and forever the army of Hood. This continued. success was won by deserving it. His campaigns were carefully planned, and every possible preparation made to insure victory. His army was His army was so organized and equipped that he knew its capacity, and could reasonably predict the results. In addition to all this, amid the shock of battle General Thomas was cool, collected, and never carried away by excitement. His mind moved rapidly; and in emergencies such as occurred at Chickamauga he was able to make new dispositions of his troops to meet the shifting changes of battle, and repel new and unexpected attack. No great soldier in history, Marlborough perhaps alone excepted, was more universally victorious; and his victories, unlike those of Marlborough, were never achieved at the cost of great loss of life. The battle of Malplaquet, the last of the great victories of Churchill, was won at such a fearful loss of life that even now we cannot help shuddering at the ghastly details. The loss of General Thomas at Nashville, in killed and

wounded, was exceedingly light, being less than the number of prisoners actually captured from the enemy; while at Chickamauga the loss in his corps was less than that of the enemy to which he was opposed. General Thomas achieved his greatest fame at Chickamauga and in the campaign of Nashville.

When the war began, General Thomas was forty-five years of age. He was grave and dignified in manner, above the medium height, with light hair and full beard closely trimmed and beginning to be tinged with gray. His manners were simple and unostentatious, and he was uniformly courteous to all with whom he came in contact, without regard to rank or position. But he was by no means a cold man, and under his grave, simple, and dignified manner his heart beat as tenderly as a woman's. With the private soldiers he was universally beloved. Some one has said that soldiers never apply nicknames of their own to their leaders unless these possess some qualities that inspire affection as well as respect. Napoleon was "The Little Corporal" of his soldiers, while (Old Pap Thomas) was most affectionately remembered by the Army of the Cumberland. Every soldier in the ranks took the warmest interest in all that concerned him, and resented any reflection upon him as a personal affront. General Thomas thoroughly reciprocated this warm personal attachment, and many a private soldier remembers a pleasant word or a little favor from their great leader. While he was modest and simple in his manners, he was by no means without ambition. He wore his laurels firmly, and had a soldier's pride in the services he had rendered his country, and the honors it had bestowed upon him. During the four years following the war, while he was took a warm personal interest in those of his old army who were then residing in that country, and they owe him many an act of kindness that never will be forgotten. One instance of it happened to come under the writer's

stationed in the South, he

personal observation. A couple of poor ex-private soldiers were so unfortunate as to become involved in litigation over a claim they did not owe, and all their property was seized under a landlord's attachment, and could only be released by giving a sufficient bond for the payment of the pretended and unjust claim. They were without friends or credit, and had about given up in despair. Finally one of them determined to go up and see General Thomas about it. He was promptly admitted and kindly received by the General, who was satisfied of his truthfulness; but instead of giving any order which should interfere with the civil authorities, he went down to the little dingy office of the justice of the peace in Nashville, and personally signed the bond they had to give as surety, and was enabled to send them home with their property restored, quietly remarking, "Now, boys, don't get me into any scrape about this." It was a little thing to do, but it illustrates the simple and kindly nature of the man.

On another occasion a private soldier, very homesick, came to headquarters personally to get a leave of absence. The General asked him why he wanted a furlough; and the poor fellow, in the most dejected manner, replied, General, I have n't seen my wife for more than three months." Why," said the General, "that's nothing. I haven't seen my wife for over three years.” "Well," said the soldier, "that may be, General, but me and my wife ain't them kind." I may remark that this is the true literal version of the incident, and that the soldier got his furlough.

General Thomas took great interest in the affairs of Tennessee, which he regarded as the State of his adoption, and interested himself personally in introducing emigration and capital to develop its resources. The first Legislature of that State which assembled after the war was composed of loyal men, many of whom had served under General Thomas during the Rebellion. At

the official request of the two houses he sat for his portrait, which now hangs in the library of the State House, among those of former governors and other high officers of that State.

General Thomas had decided political convictions, yet he had no ambition for political office. Not long after the war ended there was a good deal of quiet discussion, especially among the loyal people in the South and West, as to the propriety of presenting his name as a Republican candidate for the Presidency, to succeed Andrew Johnson. Those who were nearest to General Thomas know that this did not meet his approval. Finally, at a Republican State Convention at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1867, a resolution was adopted amid the wildest enthusiasm, instructing the delegates from that State to present his name for that position. General Thomas immediately addressed a letter to Governor Senter, who introduced the resolution, which was at once given to the press, in which he absolutely refused to permit his name. to be used in connection with that or any political office. The letter was characteristic. In it he said that he had simply done his duty to his country, and had been honored for it, in his own estimation, far beyond his merits; that he was a soldier by profession, and was not qualified by education or experience for so exalted a position. In conversation with personal friends afterward he gave the additional reasons, that as a soldier he had "done the State some service," and had won fame and position, and he was unwilling to risk the laurels he had earned for the chances of success in civil office. He had a soldier's dislike for the shoals and quicksands of political life; the past was secure, and he was unwilling to put its honors in peril. The question was not pressed further at that time, but there are many who firmly believe that nothing but his early death prevented him from finally becoming the Chief Magistrate of the Republic. That position could add nothing to his fame, which he