John Peyre Thomas Sr.

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The Citadel)
In office
1882–1885
Preceded byMajor James B. White
Succeeded byBGen George Doherty Johnston
Personal details
Born
John Peyre Thomas

March 17, 1833
Berkeley County, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 1912 (age 78)
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Alma materSouth Carolina Military Academy
ProfessionEducator
State legislator
Historian and author

Colonel John Peyre Thomas Sr. (March 17, 1833 – February 11, 1912) was an educator, politician and historian who served as 6th Superintendent of the

The Citadel).[1][2]

Career

A native of

William T. Sherman. This battle is the only time the entire student body of a United States college fought in combat.[5][6] Thomas led Arsenal cadets when they fired what may have been the last shots of the Civil War east of the Mississippi in a skirmish with Union troops at Williamston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865; the Battalion of State Cadets was the last armed Confederate force in South Carolina when it was disbanded by Thomas at Newberry, South Carolina, on May 9.[1][7]

With the SCMA closed and occupied by Federal troops at the end of the conflict, Thomas studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1871; in 1873, he established the Carolina Military Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, and served as superintendent for nine years.[8][9] In 1882 by act of the South Carolina legislature the SCMA was reopened with a single campus at the site of the former Citadel Academy on Marion Square in Charleston, with Thomas as superintendent;[10] he resigned in 1885 but continued as a member of the Board of Visitors. From 1886 to 1887, Thomas served in the South Carolina State Legislature, then was appointed State Historian. He authored numerous books, among them being The History of the South Carolina Military Academy published in 1893, which covered the first 50 years of the school's existence.[2][11]

Personal life

Thomas was married to Mary Caroline Gibbes; the couple had 14 children. Son Albert Sidney Thomas later served as Episcopal bishop of South Carolina, and son John Peyre Thomas Jr. (1857–1946) was dean of the law school at the University of South Carolina. Colonel Thomas died in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 78 and is buried in the cemetery of Trinity Episcopal Church.

References

  1. ^ a b "The Citadel Alumni Association". secure.citadelalumni.org.
  2. ^ a b Kara, Klein. "Colonel John P. Thomas, CSA (1882-1885)". citadel.edu.
  3. ^ "Research OnLine - South Carolina Military Academy Cadets". researchonline.net.
  4. ^ "War Between The States". citadel.edu.
  5. ^ "Roster – Arsenal Cadets". 7 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Battle of Tulifinny". Battle of Tulifinny.
  7. ^ "Williamston Skirmish - Williamston, South Carolina". scpictureproject.org.
  8. ^ "Marker: L-80". ncmarkers.com.
  9. ^ "North Carolina Military Institute". NCpedia.
  10. ISBN 9780738517049
    – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Thomas, John Peyre (1893). The History of the South Carolina Military Academy. Charleston, SC: Walker, Evans & Cogswell Co.

Further reading

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