John Thomas (1724 – 2 June 1776) was an American medical doctor and soldier from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

who became a major general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. He was a leader during the

siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...

. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

after the unsuccessful invasion by the Continental Army. He died from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

during the retreat.

Early life

Thomas was born in Marshfield,

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. As a young man he studied medicine with Doctor Tufts in Medford before beginning his own practice in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. He was married to Hannah Thomas with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Colonial wars

During

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...

in 1746 he was appointed surgeon to a regiment bound for

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal is a town in and the county seat of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community, known as Port Royal before 1710, is recognised as having one of the longest histories in North America, preceding the settlements at Plym ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. Liking military service, in 1747 he traded his post as surgeon for that of a lieutenant. In 1755 he served as surgeon in General

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organizing the succ ...

's regiment. By the time of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

he had risen to colonel in the militia or provincial ranks. He served in Nova Scotia again in 1759. In 1760, General

Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the ...

put him at the head of a division during the attack and capture of Montreal. After the war he returned to his practice at Kingston. He was married to Hannah Thomas with whom he had a daughter and two sons.

American War of Independence

In the period leading up to open war, Thomas recruited a regiment of volunteers (

2nd Massachusetts Regiment The 2nd Massachusetts Regiment, also known as Thomas' Regiment and Bailey's Regiment, was a unit of the Massachusetts Line in the 1777 establishment of the Continental Army. It was a successor to a number of Massachusetts provincial regiments f ...

) in Plymouth County and served as their colonel. In February 1775 the state assembly named him a brigadier general. He led his troops to the siege in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and in June, the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

appointed him a brigadier in the

. Thomas briefly resigned, disappointed that while four major generals were named, he was not on the list. Congress was then trying to name no more than one major general from each state, and Artemas Ward was given preference. When

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and Charles Lee both implored him to remain, he returned to service. The Congress resolved that he would be given precedence over all other brigadiers in the army. On the night of March 4, 1776, he led his division to fortify the Dorchester Heights, overlooking the south harbor at Boston, by using cannon that

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

had brought from

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

. From that position, he threatened the British fleet and the British were forced to withdraw, evacuating Boston on March 17. Thomas was finally named a major general. After General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

was killed, Thomas was assigned to command in Canada and take charge of the Canadian invasion. He joined the army besieging

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

on May 1, but found a disaster. The forces here numbered less than 1,000. Besides its walls, the city had more defenders than that. Over 300 of his men were already overdue for discharge from their enlistment, and smallpox was raging through the force. He immediately sent the sick men to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

and began a withdrawal with the rest. Thomas died of

on June 2, 1776, during the retreat up the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

near Chambly. By June 18, the Continental Army had abandoned Canada.

Legacy

* namesake of

Thomaston, Maine Thomaston, formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, and Lincoln, is a New England town, town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Noted for its antique architecture, ...

References

; Endnotes ;Texts
Diary of John Thomas, surgeon in Winslow's expedition of 1755 against the Acadians (1879)

External links

* –

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortifica ...

Military Cemetery, Quebec * – cenotaph at the Old Burial Ground, Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1724 births 1776 deaths American Revolutionary War deaths Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Deaths from smallpox in the United States People from colonial Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War 18th-century American physicians People from Marshfield, Massachusetts United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War