Abel E. Thomas, a native of Indiana and a resident of America, Nemaha County, Kansas, enlisted as a private in Company A, 5th Kansas Cavalry on August 4, 1861. On April 25, 1864, he was captured at the Battle of Marks' Mills, Arkansas. According to the Military History of Kansas Regiments, "a small portion of the Fifth, with one gun, (howitzer) shared in the disaster. . .when General Steele's train was captured, and many men killed and wounded. But few escaped; the gun was lost, and Lieutenants Jennings and McCarty taken prisoners, with nearly all of their men. Lieutenant McCarty soon escaped. The others were held at Tyler, Texas, until exchanged." Thomas was mustered out of service on April 20, 1865 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He died on November 7, 1915 in Holton, Kansas.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31773
