(1809 – 1903)

Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient

Represented Fairlee in the Vermont House of Representatives, 1838, 1839, 1845, 1846, 1860, 1861; State Senator from Orange County, 1848, 1849; Delegate to the Constitutional Conventions, 1843, 1850; Register of probate for the district of Bradford, 1842 – 1846; Probate Judge 1847 – 1849; Alternate to the Democratic National Convention, 1848; Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 1852, 1856, 1860;

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Thomas_(Medal_of_Honor)

Governor Erastus Fairbanks called an extra session of the State Legislature on April 23, 1861, which Thomas attended. He was a member of the Ways and Means committee, which intended to report out a bill appropriating half a million dollars for military purposes. Thomas presented an impassioned speech supporting an amendment that doubled the amount to one million dollars. He said "Until this rebellion shall have been put down, I have no friends to reward and no enemies to punish, and I trust that the whole strength and power of Vermont, both of men and of money, will be put into the field to sustain the government."
After some spirited debate in the full house, the measure was passed unanimously. Thomas also supported passage of a bill giving every non-commissioned officer and private seven dollars a month in addition to their Federal pay, and that bill was enacted as well.

Commissioned Colonel of the 8th Vermont Infantry, November 12, 1861 and commanded it until May 1863 when he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps, which included the 8th Vermont. Participated in the occupation of New Orleans and the battles of, Raceland, Boutte Station, Bayou des Allemands, Bisland, & Port Hudson.
In July 1864, A portion of the XIX Corps, Including the 8th Vermont, was transfered to the eastern theater of the war. They arrived at Fortress Monroe just in time to join the VI Corps in the Shenandoah Valley, and participate in Major General Philip Sheridan's campaign against the Confederacy's Jubal Early. Thomas commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division from October 15 to October 24, and again from November 1 to December 3, which included the 8th Vermont, 12th Connecticut, 160th New York and 47th Pennsylvania infantry regiments. During this period, the 8th Vermont participated in the Battle of Opequon, Battle of Fisher's Hill, Battle of Cedar Creek, and Newton, Virginia. In 1892 he received the Medal of Honor for "distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked," at Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864.
Thomas was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers on February 1, 1865, and mustered out of the service August 24, 1865.
General Thomas started the war as a Democrat, but by the time he returned home, he was a Republican. "But the opposition of the old party, whose favorite he had been, would not permit it, and he was obliged to defend his course in public. The leaders with whom he had affiliated said to him after his return from the war, 'THOMAS, you've changed; we haven't.' 'Fools never do,' was his reply.
He refused to be a candidate for governor, but did serve as lieutenant governor in 1867 and 1868 under Governor John B. Page. He served as a delegate to the soldiers' convention that nominated General Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency.
He was appointed by President Grant as a U.S. pension agent in 1870, and served in that capacity for eight years. In the late 1880s Thomas was president of the U.S. Clothes Pin Company, of Montpelier, which had 15 employees and customers worldwide. He was also president of the North Haverhill Granite Company.
He served as commander of the Department of Vermont, Grand Army of the Republic, and as president of the Vermont Officers' Reunion Society. He was Companion #09174 of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, or MOLLUS, through its Vermont Commandery.
General Thomas died in Montpelier, and is buried in Green Mount cemetery.
Rank and organization: Colonel, 8th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864. Entered service at: Montpelier, Vt. Birth: Vermont. Date of issue: July 25, 1892.
Citation:
Distinguished conduct in a desperate hand to hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked.

A great article about General Thomas can be found here:
http://www.ourherald.com/news/2003-07-17/Front_page/f03.html