Henry Goddard Thomas Collection

Collection

Identifier: SpC MS 0876-sc

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes the journals of a college student. The diaries cover the years 1855 to 1860 and record his life and impressions just before he entered the military service. They provide insight into the character of both Thomas and his home city, Portland, Maine. Included also are typed transcripts of the journals and a biographical sketch by Eric S. Flower, August 22, 1974. Included also is a certificate of admission to Bowdoin College as a probationary student signed by Leonardus Wood in 1855. Included also is a signed letter to Lot M. Morrill dated Feb. 25, 1865 thanking him for a confirmation.

Dates

Creation: 1855-1974
Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1855-1865)

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Use Restrictions

Information on literary rights available in the repository.

Biographical Note

Henry Goddard Thomas was born in 1837 in Portland, Maine and died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma territory in 1897. He attended Bowdoin College and spent his final two years of college life at Amherst, where he graduated in 1858. He read law, 1859-1861, in the offices of Judge Edward Fox and of Josiah H. Drummond, Esq., and was admitted to the Cumberland bar at Portland, Maine and also later to the Oklahoma bar, Oklahoma territory. He served in the Union army during the Civil War and was a career soldier. He was frequently praised for his gallantry under fire, but has been best remembered as the first colonel commanding a unit of African American troops, the Second Regiment U.S. Volumteers.