Heck Thomas
| Henry Andrew "Heck" Thomas | |
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| Born |
January 6, 1850 Oxford, Georgia, USA |
| Died | August 14, 1912 (aged 62) Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma |
| Cause of death | Bright's disease |
| Resting place | Highland Cemetery 34°37′56″N 98°24′1″W / 34.63222°N 98.40028°W |
| Occupation |
Lawman Gunfighter Gambler Railroad Agent |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Parent(s) |
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Lawman
Gunfighter
Gambler
Henry Andrew "Heck" Thomas (January 3, 1850 – August 14, 1912) was a lawman on the American frontier, most notably in Oklahoma.
Thomas was born in 1850 in Oxford, Georgia, the youngest of five children of Martha Ann Fullwood (née Bedell) and Lovick Pierce Thomas, I.
At the beginning of the American Civil War, Thomas, at the age of twelve, accompanied as a courier his uncle, Edward Lloyd Thomas, and his father, who were officers in the 35th Georgia Infantry, to the battlefields in Virginia.
On September 1, 1862, Union General Philip Kearny was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, Young "Heck" was entrusted with the general's horse and equipment and was ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee to take them through the lines to General Kearny's widow. He recounted this in a letter to his brother Lovick Pierce Thomas, II:
One evening while the fight was going on or, rather, just before dark, a soldier came to the rear where Uncle Ed's baggage and the darkies and I were, leading a black horse with saddle and bridle. He brought also a sword. Just after this, Stonewall Jackson crossed over into Maryland and captured the city of Frederick; that was after taking Harper's Ferry (now West Virginia) and about 14,000 federal prisoners. These prisoners were held by Uncle Ed's brigade, while the army was fighting the Battle of Sharpsburg. We could see the smoke and hear they cannon from Harper's Ferry. While we were at Harpers Ferry, General Lee sent an order to uncle Ed for the horse and equipments. I carried them forward, and it was one of the proudest minutes of my life when I found myself under the observation of General Robert E. Lee. Then General Lee sent the horse and everything through the lines, under a flag of truce, to General Kearney's [sic] widow. I had ridden the horse and cared for him up to that time, and I hated to part with him.
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Wikipedia