"On the 26th of June 1845, with his Company,
Lieutenant George Thomas left
Fort Moultrie under orders to report to General Zachary Taylor.
Company “E” arrived at New Orleans July 19th, and on the 24th under the command of Taylor, sailed for Texas, and in August, with the Third and
Fourth Infantry took position at Corpus Christi, being the first United States
troops to occupy the soil of Texas. With
the Army of Occupation, Company “E” advanced to the Rio Grande in March,
1846, and was subsequently ordered with the Infantry and Company “I” Second
Artillery, under Major Brown, to
garrison the fort opposite Matamoras. These
troops were subjected to bombardment from the 3d to the 9th of May.
Their loss, however, was slight, but included the gallant Major Brown,
who was succeeded in command by Captain Hawkins of the Seventh Infantry.
On the 9th, the siege was raised in consequence of the defeat
of the Mexican army by General Taylor at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, on
the 8th and 9th. When
the defeated Mexicans were hastily crossing the river before Taylor’s pursuing
forces, the artillery fire from the forth increased their fright and confusion.
During June and July, Lieutenant Thomas was detached
with a section of his battery, and was with the Vanguard in its advance to
Reynosa and Camargo. Having
rejoined his company, he took part in the battles about Monterey, September
21d-23d, and such was his bearing that he was brevetted Captain “for gallant
and meritorious conduct.” In his
report, General J. P. Henderson, commanding Texan volunteers, wrote: “I beg
leave also, under the authority of General Lamar, to compliment Lieutenant
Thomas of the Artillery and his brave men for the bold advance and efficient
management of the force under his charge. When
ordered to retire he reloaded his piece, fired a farewell shot at the foe and
returned under a shower of bullets.”
General Twiggs, commanding First division,
said, “Captains R. Ridgely and B. Bragg, and their subalterns, W. H. Shover,
G. H. Thomas, J. F. Reynolds, C. L. Kilburn, and S. G. French deserved the
highest praise for their skill and good conduct under the heaviest fire of the
enemy, which, when an opportunity offered, was concentrated on them.”
The senior first lieutenant, Braxton Bragg,
having been promoted to a captaincy, Lieutenant Thomas commanded Company “E”
from November 21st, 1846, to February 14th, 1847, when
Captain T. W. Sherman assumed command. He
accompanied General Quitman’s brigade in its march to Victoria in December
1846.
In the battle of Buena Vista, February 22nd
– 23rd, 1847, Lieutenant Thomas was conspicuous for efficiency and
bravery, and was subsequently brevetted Major “for gallant and meritorious
conduct” in this battle. The
following passages from official reports prove that this reward was fully
earned. General Taylor said,
referring to the subalterns of the artillery, and including Thomas by name:
“they were nearly all detached at different times, and in every situation
exhibited conspicuous skill and gallantry.”
Captain T. W. Sherman wrote: “I was directed
to take my battery back to the plateau, where I joined Lieutenant Thomas, who
had been constantly engaged during the forenoon in the preservation of that
important position, and whom I found closely engaged with the enemy, and that,
too, in a very advanced position.
Lieutenant Thomas more than sustained the
reputation he has long enjoyed in his regiment as an accurate and scientific
artillerist.”
General Wool attributed the victory to the artillery: “I also desire to express my high admiration and to offer my warmest thanks to Captains Washington, Sherman and Bragg, and Lieutenants O’Brien and Thomas, and their batteries, to whose services at this point and on every part of the field, I think it but justice to say we are mainly indebted for the great victory so successfully achieved by our arms over the great force opposed to us -- more than twenty thousand men, and seventeen pieces of artillery. Without our artillery, we would not have maintained our position a single hour.”
The victory at Buena Vista ended the war in
Northern Mexico, but Company “E”, Third Artillery, was left with other
troops south of the Rio Grande until August 20th, when the last of
our forces re-crossed into Texas. "
Reference: Van Horne: The Life of Major-General George Thomas, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1882
Background song: Green Grow the Lilacs (midi file sequenced by Barry Taylor)
This is a song about a soldier's love for a Mexican girl. One story about the song speculates that soldiers during the war liked to sing this song. Across the way, Mexicans, who could not understand the words, could only hear "GREEN GROW". So that an Anglo-American became to be called a "Gringo" by the Mexicans.