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COLONEL THOMAS G.
BACON, OF THE SEVENTH SOUTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS.
Thomas Glascock Bacon was born in Edgefield
Village of English ancestry on the 24th of June, 1812. He was the youngest
son of Major Edmund Bacon, the eloquent and distinguished member of the
Edgefield Bar, and author of the humorous "Georgia Scenes," written under
the nom de plume of Ned Brace. Colonel Bacon's mother was a sister of
Brigadier General Thomas F. Glascock, of Georgia, a gallant and
distinguished officer of the Revolutionary War, and after whom Colonel
Bacon was named.
He received the early rudiments of education at
the Edgefield Academy, and when at the proper age he was sent for his
classical education to the Pendleton English and Classical Institute,
under the tutilage of that profound scholar and educator. Prof. S. M.
Shuford. Colonel Bacon was fond of the classics, and had acquired rare
literary attainments, and had he cultivated his tastes in that line
assiduously, he no doubt would have become the foremost scholar of the
State, if not the South. He was passionately fond of manly sports and
out-door exercise. He was a devotee of the turf, and this disposition led
him early in life to the development of fast horses and a breeder of
blooded stock. He was a turfman of the old school, and there were but few
courses in the South that had not tested the mettle of his stock. But like
his brother in arms, Colonel Cash, of the Eighth, and brother turfman, he
became disgusted with the thievery and trickery of later day sports and
quit the turf, still owning at his death some of the most noted racers of
the times, Granger Lynchburg, John Payne, Glengary, Father Ryan, Ned
Brace, and others of lesser note. He paid much attention to military
matters, and held several offices in the State militia before the war.
He, with his friend and superior, General M. L,. Bonham, enlisted
in the "Blues" and served in the Palmetto Regiment in the war with the
Seminoles. At the breaking out of the Civil War he, with Elbert Bland,
afterwards Colonel of the Seventh, organized the first company from
Edgefield, and was elected Captain. The companies assigned to the Seventh
Regiment unanimously elected him the Colonel, and in that capacity he led
his regiment to Virginia, being among the first regiments from the State
to reach the seat of war. He was at the battle of Manassas, and
participated in the Peninsular campaign. At the reorganization of the
regiment at the expiration of the term of enlistment, his failing health
forced him to decline a re-election as Colonel. Returning home, and the
State needing the services of trained soldiers to command the State
troops, notwithstanding his failing health, he cheerfully accepted the
command of the Seventh Regiment State troops. In 1863 he was elected to
the State Senate. He died at his home, Pine Pond, in Edgefield County,
September 25th, 1876, leaving a widow, but no children.
Strong in his friendship and earnest in his
affection, but with a peaceable and forgiving temperament, pure in his
motives, charitable in all things, generous to the needy, affectionate to
his friends and relatives, chivalric and honorable in every relation of
life, brave in action, and with that fortitude under adverse circumstances
that makes heroes of men, just and impartial to the officers and men under
his command, pleasant and sociable towards his equals in rank, obedient
and courteous to his superiors, few men lived or died with so much respect
and admiration, genuine friendship, and love from all as Colonel Thomas G.
Bacon, of the Seventh South Carolina
Volunteers. |
