Thomas’s Legion is
one of those Confederate infantry organizations with almost mythical status. In
a day and time when Native Americans in the United States had been maligned and
unfairly treated, a group of Cherokee joined the Confederate cause. They were
led into the fray by their white chief, William Holland Thomas. Yet Thomas was a
poor military leader. Three times during the war, he was court martialed by his
superiors for various offenses.
Thomas was born in
1805 near Waynesville, North Carolina. He was raised by his widowed mother, was
running a store by the age of thirteen, and later, dealt in real-estate. Thomas also read law. In 1848, he won a seat
in the state senate and held that seat until 1861, an unusual feat for a
Democrat in the Whigish mountain counties. His political fortunes were tied to
internal improvements, largely the railroad. Most Democrats were not in favor
of internal improvements unless they benefited the eastern counties. Thomas
owned thirty-nine slaves according to the 1860 census, was married, and had three
small children at home.
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| Col. William H. Thomas, from Clark's. |
Thomas had a long and complex history with
some of his neighbors, the Cherokee. He ran a store in Qualla Town in Haywood
County, and was adopted by Yonaguska, one of the Cherokee chiefs. Some of the
Cherokee had agreed to an 1819 treaty in which they accepted land outside of
what was considered tribal lands.
Worried that they would be forced west like other Cherokee, this group
chose Thomas as their agent in dealing with the Federal government. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, Thomas fought
for the rights of this small group, going as far as to buy thousands of acres
of land for what became known as the Lufty Cherokee. After Yonaguska died,
Thomas was elected their chief.
Because of his role
with the Lufty Cherokee, Thomas had the idea of raising a company or battalion of
Cherokee warriors to fight for the South. His first attempt, a company called
the “Junaluska Zouaves,” really did not go anyplace. Thomas was busy in Raleigh
with the secession convention and did not appear to do much recruiting.
In November 1861, a
group of Unionist burned bridges in east Tennessee. Some of the arsonists were
caught and imprisoned in Tuscaloosa (read more here). Others were caught and
executed, while the majority escaped, some fleeing to western North Carolina.
Alarmed at the influx of malcontents, Governor Henry Clark organized ranger
companies along the North Carolina-Tennessee boarder. Thomas was slow in
organizing his rangers. It was not until April 1862 that the Highland Rangers were
mustered into service. Thomas’s command was ordered to East Tennessee to guard
railroad bridges. He continued to
recruit, eventually having an infantry regiment, usually under the
command of Lt. Col. James R. Love, Jr.; Walker’s battalion, under the command
of Lt. Col. William C. Walker; Levi’s
battery, under the command of Capt. John T. Levi; and the Indian Battalion,
usually under Thomas.
It was while in
East Tennessee that Thomas first ran into trouble. Thomas’s Legion, because of
the rate of desertion, was put under the command of Brig. Gen. Alfred E.
Jackson. The two clashed. In August 15, 1863, Jackson placed Thomas under
arrest for disobedience of orders. Thomas was sent to Knoxville for trial, and
either the trial was interrupted by the arrival of Federals under Ambrose
Burnside, or the charges were dismissed.
In September 1863,
as the Confederates abandoned much of east Tennessee, Thomas had orders to join
Jackson at Bristol, Tennessee. Instead, Thomas took his Indian battalion and
headed for North Carolina. Thomas claimed he had orders to do so, but those don’t
seem to survive.
In December 1863,
Thomas moved his command into east Tennessee, possibly planning to spend the
winter near Gatlinburg, or possibly in support (and under orders) of Longstreet.
Thomas’s command was caught unaware by Federals at Gatlinburg, and after an
hour-long fight, retreated back into North Carolina. Soon thereafter, Brig.
Gen. Robert B. Vance headed into Tennessee where he was captured on January 14,
1864. New departmental commander Joseph E. Johnston ordered Thomas arrested.
The court martial was held in Asheville on February 23, 1864. Once again, the
outcome is not known, but Thomas retained his command.
Thomas continued to
try to hold the mountain passes in the Great Smoky Mountains. He struggled to
keep not only his men fed, but their families as well. Desertions were rampant,
leaving Thomas with too few men. Federals frequently rode into the area,
striking at places in Thomas’s rear. Thomas continued to try and recruit,
leading to his third arrest and courts martial. The commanding officer of the 6th
North Carolina Cavalry charged Thomas on May 11, 1864, for “[k]knowingly entertaining
and receiving for his command” over twenty deserters from that regiment. He was
charged with both conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman and for conduct
to the prejudice of good order and military discipline. The trial was held in
Goldsboro, North Carolina, October 22, 1864. Thomas was probably found guilty
of all charges. In all likelihood, Thomas, who immediately went to Richmond,
got Jefferson Davis to drop all but one of the guilty verdicts.
Thomas and his
legion are kind of heroes in Confederate service. His Legion, composed of both Whites
and Cherokees, does lend even more credence to the idea of a more diversified
Confederate army (you can check out more here and here). But Thomas had many
detractors during the war. Congressman A.T. Davidson wrote the Secetarty of War
that month asking that Thomas’s command be disbanded. Davidson believed that
Thomas had “greatly transcended his authority to the prejudice of the
service…Thomas’s Indians are worthless and never will do any good.” In March
1863, Col. Benjamin S. Ewell, assistant adjutant general to Joseph E. Johnston,
believed that Legions, including Thomas’s, should be broken apart, formed into
traditional regiments in regulation brigades. “In their present condition they
are inefficient,” he wrote. Another North Carolinian wrote in 1864: “One North
Carolinian wrote to Governor Vance: “It is true, W H Thomas is in Jackson
[County]. But what does he do? No order ever reaches him or if it does, his own
way is the best.”
Thomas was paroled in Waynesville on May 9,
1865. He was forced to resign as chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, and
then was sued by them, some say reluctantly, in an effort to gain possession of
some of their lands. Thomas suffered with mental issues and died at the mental
hospital in Morganton in 1893.
