Henry Goddard Thomas (5 April 1837-23 January 1897) was a Union Army brigadier-general who served in the American Civil War.
Biography[]
Henry Goddard Thomas was born in Portland, Maine in 1837, the brother of William W. Thomas Jr.. He became a lawyer in 1858, and he joined the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment at the start of the American Civil War. In February 1863, Thomas became colonel of the 2nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment, and he came to command the 19th United States Colored Infantry Regiment in 1863. Thomas commanded a Black brigade at the disastrous Battle of the Crater in 1864, after which he was promoted to Brigadier-General. He retired in 1891, and he died in Oklahoma City in 1897.