Major General George Henry Thomas - Washington, DC
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neoc1
N 38° 54.338 W 077° 01.915
18S E 323811 N 4308267
An equestrian statue of Union Major General George Henry Thomas is located in Thomas Circle in Washington NW, DC.
Waymark Code: WM13PP5
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2021
Views: 3
A 16' by 15' by 5.5' bronze equestrian statue of Major General George Henry Thomas is set on a oval 15' by 31' by 11' granite base decorated with medallions on the east and west sides. Major General Thomas is depicted wearing a military uniform while sitting on his horse Billy with his left hand holding the reins of his horse while holding his hat by his right side with his right hand. The statue was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, cast at the Bureau Brothers Foundry, and dedicated on November 19, 1879. Visit Link
A monument honoring Major General George Henry Thomas is located in Thomas Circle, a traffic circle which is about 0.5 miles north east of the White House at the junction of Vermont Avenue and 13th Street and Rhode Island Avenue. The General Thomas monument is placed in the center of the circle, facing south towards the White House. A grassy area and an iron fence separates the monument from a circular walk surrounding the monument. A second grassy area extends outward to the surrounding streets. Four walkways connect the monument to the streets. The name of the sculptor JQAWard and the date 1879 can be found just below the left right foot of his horse Billy.
On the base below Major General Thomas' right side is the inscription:
MAJ. GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS
SAN FRANCISCO CAL.
MARCH 28, 1870
On the base below Major General Thomas' left side is the inscription:
ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES
OF THE SOCIETY OF
THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND
George Henry Thomas was born in Newsom's Depot, VA on July 31, 1816. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY and graduated as a second lieutenant and assigned to Company D of the 3rd U.S. Artillery stationed at Fort Lauderdale, FL. where he fought in the Seminole Wars. In anticipation of what was to become the Mexican-American War he was reassigned to Texas where he saw action in the Battles of Fort Brown, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Buena Vista.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, despite being a Virginians, he chose to remain loyal to the Union Army where he rose to the rank of General. He became the the commander of the XIV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland and participated in the Battles of Mill Springs, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge,
Franklin–Nashville, and Nashville.
After the Civil war he was assigned to the Military Division of the Pacific headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA where he died on March 28, 1870 at age 53. He is interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, NY. Visit Link