The Indian Territory in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Joseph F Thompson
In Response To: Joseph F Thompson ()

Joseph Franklin Thompson replaced Robert Calhoun Parks as Lt Col of the 1st Cherokee Mounted Volunteers, after the latter was killed in April 1864. After being mustered out of the 1st Cavalry Regiment Arkansas State Troops (Col. DeRosey Carroll) Thompson served as Captain of (1st) Company E, 1st Cherokee regiment. At the regimental reorganization in early to mid-August 1862, he was elected Major and Parks Lt. Col. The muster rolls state July 12, 1862 as the date of reorganization, but that is likely inaccurate by 2-3 weeks, although for the purpose of pay, rank, etc. July 12 was entered as the official date of reorganization and (re-)enlistment. Upon Parks death Thompson was very likely promoted Lt Col, although no records exist to document it, regulations clearly state that vacancies caused by death etc should be filled by promotion of the next senior officer (unless such an event should coincide with a full reorganization of the unit, which is what happened after Lt Col Thomas Fox Taylor's death in July 1862). Another full reorganization of the 1st Cherokee occurred in mid-July 1864, however, with all officer posts being up for election. The Lt Col position then went to Clement Neely Vann, and Thompson disappears from the scene. While there is no record of him assuming a staff position in the 1st Indian Brigade, it is entirely possible that he later served in that capacity. The 1st Indian Brigade under Stand Watie was officially organized on January 12, 1864, by General Order # 6, District of Indian Terriory (text is not found in OR, but the order is referred to in other documents). Per the compiled military service records, Stand Watie appointed his brigade staff on February 26, 1864, but as he was still only a Colonel acting as Brigadier, he was not entitled to a separate staff, so in practice, he would have to pick 7 officers from the regimental staffs and give them extra brigade-level duties. However, once Watie's promotion to Brigadier General came through (confirmed in Richmond on May 6, but it took until late June 1864 to reach Indian Territory), these 7 officers constituted a permanent brigade staff (with appropriate pay and rank) and their regimental staff positions could be assumed by someone else (this change pretty much coincided with the general reorganization of the Cherokee regiments in July 1864). General Order # 53 from the Adjutant & Inspector General in Richmond, dated June 17, 1864, made further changes to the brigade staff organization, which for a cavalry brigade increased the number of staff positions to 9. Records indicate that this order reached Indian Territory in August, as Watie appointed his son Saladin Ridge Watie to fill a newly created second Aide-de-Camp position on August 13. One month later, he also forwarded papers (dated September 13, 1864) to the War Department to obtain official confirmation for all staff appointments in the 1st Indian Brigade in accordance with AIG General Orders # 53. As to Thompson, it is my belief that he may have been asked to serve as the brigade Inspector General, which was a new position created by GO # 53. There are records to show that the two Adjutant General positions were held by Thomas Frederick Anderson and Joseph Absalom Scales.

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Joseph F Thompson
Re: Joseph F Thompson
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