http://www.virginiamemory.com Virginia Memory en-us Library of Virginia web@virginiamemory.com web@virginiamemory.com Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:07:49 GMT 300 http://www.virginiamemory.com/reading_room/this_day_in_virginia_history http://www.virginiamemory.com/about/news_feeds/this_day_in_virginia_history Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:10:00 EST <p><a href="http://www.virginiamemory.com/reading_room/this_day_in_virginia_history/march/12"><img alt="feed image" width="130" height="113" align="left" border="0" hspace="5" src="http://www.virginiamemory.com/docs/index?w=130&h=113&img=3-12-1861-07_1019_07.jpg" title="Virginia, Governor (1860–1864: Letcher), Executive Papers of Governor John Letcher, 1859–1863, Accession 36787, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia." /></a>George Henry Thomas (1816–1870) was born in Southampton County and in 1861 was an instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In this letter to Governor John Letcher (1813–1884), he responded to the request that he resign from the United States Army and take a post as Virginia's Chief of Ordnance of the State. Thomas wrote that he would remain in the U.S. Army as long as Virginia was in the Union. Thomas, however, remained in the United States Army even after Virginia seceded. After the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia, where he commanded Union forces, he was known as the "Rock of Chickamauga."</p><br clear="all" /> http://www.virginiamemory.com/reading_room/this_day_in_virginia_history/march/12