Wounded at Wilmington North Carolina, resulting in an amputation of the lower third of his right arm. He was awarded the Purple Heart in 1932. He was born a "free black" on a farm in Ohio in 1843. When war broke out, Thomas joined the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a captain's "private servant" in September 1861. There was no indignity in this job, as then-existing War Department regulations permitted an infantry captain to have one servant to wash, clean, cook and perform other odd jobs for him. In November 1862, Thomas transferred to the 95th Ohio Volunteer Infantry - again in an official, albeit civilian, capacity as a private servant. Then, on September 23, 1863, Thomas made the transition from civilian to military when he enlisted in the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. When that unit became the 5th U.S. Colored Troops on November 1st, Thomas became part of one of the most highly decorated "colored" units in the Civil War. Of the 16 African Americans awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, four were soldiers from the 5th USCT. On February 20, 1865 during a frontal assault on Confederate entrenchments, a musket ball hit Thomas' right arm. Complications from the wound - infection- caused the surgeon in the regimental field hospital to amputate the lower third of Thomas' right arm.