The Best General in the Civil War

The Best General in the Civil War was not U.S. Grant or Robert E. Lee. It was George Thomas.

The Confederacy might have won the war if not for this courageous Southern-born soldier who sided with the Union and won crucial Northern victories. Despite Thomas’ ability and integrity, as a Southerner he was never completely trusted by Union leaders, including Abraham Lincoln and Grant. Deserved promotions were delayed, and lesser men were advanced ahead of him. Thomas' family disowned him, and the South hated him.

Now, Thomas sets the record straight, revealing for the first time in his own words his love for the United States, his opposition to slavery, his friendship with Lee, his bitterness toward Lincoln, and his rivalry with Grant and William T. Sherman. Thomas describes his last-ditch stand against the rebels when he became known as the “Rock of Chickamauga” and his later smashing victory when he was honored as the “Sledge of Nashville,” a battle in which his faith in freed black men in Union uniforms allowed them to prove their courage against the rebels. 

This autobiographical novel tells of Thomas’ boyhood in Virginia, where he was almost killed by escaped slaves during Nat Turner’s Rebellion. Thomas recounts his education at West Point, his service in the Mexican War, and his brush with death from an Indian arrow in Texas. The book is also a love story about his marriage to a Northern woman who may have influenced his decision to remain true to the United States. But Thomas insists his resolve was a matter of honor in fulfilling his oath of loyalty to the Constitution.  After the final Union victory, Thomas had to fight the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction as well as the hostility that now-President Grant still held against him. Many Americans wanted Thomas to run for president, and Grant now doubt feared the political aspirations of a man who he knew was The Best General in the Civil War.
 

Conrad Bibens worked at newspapers for more than 40 years – as a copy editor, wire editor, city editor and reporter, including 28 years at the Houston Chronicle. A 1977 graduate of the University of Kansas, he grew up in St. Joseph, Mo., and lives in the Houston area.