Charles Henry Thompson

By: Arianna Gordon

Many heroic soldiers fought in the Civil War and lost their lives. Charles Henry Thompson was one of the many soldiers who lost their life fighting in the Civil War. For many soldiers, much is not known about how or when they died. Many soldiers, like Charles Thompson, have lived and died in anonymity. These soldiers, however, are not just numbers adding to the amount of casualties in the war. The deceased have stories waiting to be told. Charles Henry Thompson has one of those stories.

Charles Henry Thompson was born around 1841. He was born in Virginia, although, the sources I found were not clear where. Thompson died in 1864 in Trevilian Station, Virginia. I was not able to find Thompson’s biological parents, but I was able to discover that in 1850, Thompson lived with Lucy Montague, Mary Quinsenberry, and Winney Graver. At that time Charles Thompson was 9 years old, Ms. Montague was 48, Ms. Quinsenberry was 84, and Winney Graver was 15. The sources recorded that the house number they lived in was 319. It is possible that Thompson’s parents lived in the same neighborhood. During this time, it was not uncommon for children to be taken in by neighbors or family friends when the parents died or found themselves in less than fortunate circumstances. Charles Thompson lived in Orange County, Virginia during the 1850s and continued to live there until drafted into the war. Charles Thompson was drafted into the military in 1861 to fight in the Civil War.

Before Thompson enlisted into the military, he had the Measles. His illness interfered with the schedule of him being enlisted. Charles Thompson was drafted May 4, 1861 into Orange Rangers unit. This unit was a part of the sixth Virginia Cavalry, which was under the command of Captain, Gustavus J. Browning. By the time Thompson was enlisted he was approximately 20 years old. Thompson was in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and documents on Charles Henry Thompson show that he had several absences because of illness, which they labeled as disabilities. These records also show that Thompson would be enlisted for a year. During these absences, Thompson returned home to Orange County, Virginia. Thompson died in battle on June 11, 1864. He was approximately 23 years old. He died during the Battle of Trevilian Station. Thomas Military Corporation was “I”. Thompson’s unit fought in many major battles of the Civil War. Some these conflicts included: Campaign of 1863, Second Manassas, Cold Harbor, and many more. During this time, records show that soldiers who were a part of the cavalry were often paid for what they bought into the army. For example, Thompson brought his horse, which was valued at $80.00 at that time and equipment that was valued at $30.

The battle of Trevilian Station was between June 11 and 12 of 1864. This was the battle where Charles Henry Thompson was killed. Like Thompson, Captain Browning was also killed in this battle. Trevilian Station was in Louisa County, Virginia. The Confederates were led under General Hampton while the Union was under General Sheridan. Sheridan was sent by Commander Grant to destroy the Confederates way of getting supplies and stop them from continuing to Charlottesville, Virginia. The Confederates were trying to gain supply by going to the Virginia Central Railroad. On the first day, the Union and Confederate Cavalry collided, but the Confederates pulled back to wait for more support. On the same day, Cluster, who was apart of the Confederates, came to aid Sheridan. On the second day, Sheridan planned for one of his divisions to destroy and raid Trevilian Station. The division was under Torbet and they came into an encounter with the Union Cavalry, which led to the fighting for the rest of evening and ended the war. As a result, this battle was one of the biggest and bloodiest the cavalry endured during the Civil War. At the end of the war, over 700 soldiers on both sides were injured. This battle had over 2,000 casualties. The battle was labeled either inconclusive or a Confederate Victory by many researchers, but from what I have found the majority of sources list the battle as a Confederate win.

Charles Henry Thompson was a brave soldier from Virginia. He lost his life early June in a battle of the Civil War. Charles Thompson was in the Orange County Rangers within the 6th Virginia Cavalry. It is important to know the stories and lives of the people who have died in the Civil War, so they are not forgotten. Like the many other soldiers that died in war, much information is not known about these heroes and what information there is, it is not easy to find. The Civil War is an important historical event and those who died during this war are an important and essential part of the history of the Civil War.

Bibliography

Fountain, Doris. "Orange County VA - Civil War History - Part 2." Usgwarchives.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/orange/military/civilwar/history/hist0002.txt

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"Lucy M Montague." Person Details for Charles H Thompson in Household of , "United States Census, 1850" N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016. <https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DJ-GDS

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"Orange County VA - Civil War History - Part 2." USGenWeb Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.

<http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/orange/military/civilwar/history/hist0002.tx t>

"Page 1 Civil War Soldiers - Confederate - VA - Fold3." Fold3. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2016. <https://www.fold3.com/image/7103602

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"Trevilian Station." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 03 June 2016.

<http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/trevilian-station.html?tab=facts>