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Bryan Morel Thomas was born on May 8, 1836, in Milledgeville, Georgia. He attended Oglethorpe University in Georgia, then was appointed to the US Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1858, he spent some time on garrison duty in New York State, then was stationed in Utah and New Mexico. In April of 1861, he resigned his commission to accept a place in the Confederate service. As a member of Maj. Gen. Jones M. Withers' staff, Thomas fought at the Battle of Shiloh and through the Kentucky Campaign of the autumn of 1862. He took a brief sick leave, then returned in time for the Battle of Stone's River. As he rose through the ranks, he remained a staff officer. He was promoted to brigadier general on August 4, 1864, and served in the Confederate defense of Mobile, and was captured while trying to hold Fort Blakely in April of 1865. After the Civil War, Thomas worked as a farmer in Georgia, was a deputy US marshal and founded a private academy in 1884. After settling in the area of Dalton, Georgia, he became superintendent of the city's school system. Thomas died in Dalton, on July 16, 1905.
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