CIVIL WAR TRAVELS WITH MS. REBELLE - TWO NEW ENGLAND GENERALS WITH THE BATTLE OF CEDAR CREEK CONNECTIONS

            I must say that Ms. Rebelle never knows what she will find when doing research on my Civil War generals.  There is always something interesting that comes out of the research.  Union Generals George Lafayette Beal and General Stephen Thomas almost had parallel careers and both fought at Cedar Creek, VA, my second favorite battlefield, after Gettysburg.  The 149th anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Creek is coming up this month on October 19th.  It is a great reenactment as it is held on the actual battlefield, you can park your car right on the field, and set up your chairs in front of the cars.  It is such a beautiful location too.  The battlefield is located on Route 11 just south of Winchester.  The town flies both Union and Confederate flags in town during the battle reenactment weekend. 

 Union General George Lafayette Beal

         On the way to New Hampshire, I stopped in South Paris, Maine to find the grave of General Beal.  Going through my mind  was his middle name pronounced “La-Fay-ette” or “Laf-ay-ette?”  This comes from a Boston Civil War Roundtable tour done at Chickamauga Battlefield, Tennessee with Park Ranger Jim Ogden as the tour guide.  He pronounced the town of Lafayette – La-Fay-ette.  General Beal is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery.  Since I had a map and the cemetery was small, I was able to go right to the grave.  Several men were volunteering in the cemetery cleaning it up.  They were impressed that I had come all the way from Virginia to place a flag on General Beal’s grave.

         General Beal was born May 21, 1825 in Norway, Maine.  George’s father was Ezra F. Beal, one of the first citizens of Norway.  Beal attended common schools and the Westbrook Seminary.  He was a bookbinder by profession but very interested in the military.  When Fort Sumter fell, Beal was elected Captain of the Norway Light Infantry, a 3-month unit.  He was the first man to enlist in Oxford County, ME.  His unit spent three months in Washington, D.C.  After his enlistment was up, he re-enlisted and was commissioned Colonel of the Tenth Maine Infantry.  His regiment was with General Nathaniel Banks’ retreat from Winchester to Williamsport.  They also fought at the battles of Cedar Mountain, guarded the trains at 2nd Manassas, covered General Pope’s retreat, and the battle of Antietam.  Beal was severely wounded at Antietam but recovered quickly and returned to duty.  Again he was mustered out in May, 1863 and re-enlisted for three more years as Colonel or the 29th Maine Regiment.  The 29th fought at Red River and the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864.  At Sabine Crossroads, LA, he assisted the 1st Division, Nineteenth Corps saving General Banks army.  Beal was promoted to Brigadier General at Sabine Crossroads.  At Cedar Creek his brigade broke the enemy lines after General Sheridan made his famous ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek on his horse Rienzi (Rienzi is now displayed at the Smithsonian).  He also fought at 3rd Winchester and Fisher’s Hill.

         After the war, Beal was in command of the Eastern District of South Carolina at Darlington.  He was promoted to Brevet Major General of Volunteers at this time.  All in all he spent five years in the service of his country.  He mustered out in January, 1866.  He became a delegate to the Republican National Convention which nominated General Grant for the presidency in 1868.  In 1872 he was appointed as a Pension Agent in Portland, ME.  He was the first Department Commander of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) in Maine and Commander of the Military Order of Loyal Legion Commandery of Maine from 1893-94.  He was Adjutant-General of his state from 1880-1885.  He was Maine’s State Treasurer as well.    General Beal died in Norway, Maine on December 11, 1896 and is buried in South Paris, Maine.

 Union General Stephen Thomas

         Ms. Rebelle is now in Montpelier, Vermont at Green Mount Cemetery trying to find the grave of General Stephen Thomas.  Even with map in hand, most of the time the terrain never looks like the picture on the map.  After going round and round on a wet hilly road, I found a worker who gave me directions to General Thomas’ grave.

         Stephen Thomas was born December 6, 1809 in Bethel, Vermont.  His grandfather Joseph was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War with a New Hampshire regiment in the Saratoga, NY campaign.  Stephen’s father John was a member of the 31st Regiment, U.S. Infantry in the War of 1812.  Stephen’s mother, Rebecca Batchellor, was the daughter of a Revolutionary War lieutenant who also fought at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.  Prior to the Civil War, Thomas was a woolen manufacturer, politician, and judge.  General Thomas was 52 years old when he was commissioned colonel of the 8th Vermont Infantry in 1861.  He was 54 years old before he ever saw battle.  His first assignment was at Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico.  He raised the first regiment of colored troops in the country.  He was one of the first Union officers to command colored troops.  The men were free black men from New Orleans.  After New Orleans fell, Thomas commanded all the troops on the western side of the Mississippi.  Thomas participated in all engagements of the 8th Vermont.  He fought at Cotton, Bayou Teche, Bisland, and commanded a brigade at Port Hudson.  The battle there lasted 44 days.  Thomas was wounded at Port Hudson and also lost two or his four staff officers.  He was also at Sabine Pass as was General Beal above.  He commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Nineteenth Army Corps. 

         In Virginia on September, 1864 Thomas fought at the battle Opequan ordering a charge to break the center of the enemy forces.  Thomas called out to his men:  “Boys, if you ever pray, the time to pray has come.  Pray now, remember Ethan Allen and old Vermont, and we’ll drive them to hell.  Come on, old Vermont.”  Thomas then rode towards the Confederates with his sword in the air.  He was engaged at Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek as was the foregoing General Beal.  Thomas held the line against Confederate General Jubal Early until his brigade was practically annihilated, and his horse shot from under him.  Thomas was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at Cedar Creek.  His citation reads:  “Distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked.”  He was made Brigadier General of Volunteers in the spring of 1865, and then assigned to command a brigade of New York, Indiana, and Ohio regiments under General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Corps.  He served in the U.S. Army until 1865.

         After the war he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 1867 and 1868.  Thomas was the only war hero in Vermont who was a registered Democrat.  Later he became a Republican out of loyalty to the memory of Abraham Lincoln.  President Grant appointed him as a pension agent for Vermont.  He served in that position from 1870-1877.  He was president of the U.S. Clothes Pin Company of Montpelier doing business all across the U.S. with exports to foreign countries as well.  He was also president of the North Haverhill Granite Company.  After the death of his wife, he lived with his daughter, Amanda Newcomb in Montpelier.  He was active in the Sons of Veterans, the Stephen Thomas Camp.  General Thomas died on December 26, 1903 about three weeks after a fall.  He was 94 years old.  The general was one of the oldest generals to die after the Civil War with the exception of General George B. Greene who lived to be 98.  His obituary states that ”whenever there was a fight General Thomas made an admirable officer, cool, energetic and bold.”

         NOTE:  Ms. Rebelle’s hobby is travelling the country finding and honoring the graves of our 1,008 Civil War generals.  So far she has located and photographed 385….169 Confederate and 216 Union. 

        Ms. Rebelle is a member of the The Bull Run Civil War Round Table which  meets every second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Centreville Regional Library. The public is invited to attend at no cost and visit the website www.bullruncwrt.org  for additional activities (tours, etc.)