Thomas, Lorenzo

Thomas, Lorenzo

(1804–75) soldier; born in New Castle, Del. A West Point graduate (1823), he fought in the Seminole War and Mexican War. He was adjutant general of the Federal Army (1861–63) before being assigned to recruit and organize freed slaves for Union service (1863–65). Reappointed adjutant general (1868), he became involved in an unseemly power struggle with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton that led to the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.