A bio of Thomas L. Snead
SNEAD, THOMAS LOWNDES, soldier, lawyer, author, was born Jan. 10, 1828, in Henrico County, Va. He was a St. Louis lawyer who served in the Confederate army, and after 1865 resumed his profession in New York City. He was the author of The Fight for Missouri in 1861. He died Oct. 17, 1890, in New York City.
Herringshaw, Thomas William
Herringshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century
American Publishers Association, 1902
Snead, Thomas L., Prices Division
rank at induction: Major
rank at discharge: Actg. Asst General
“Maj. Thomas L. Snead, senior assistant adjutant general of my command, to whom I have been often indebted for vigorous support in hours of perilous trial (apart from the intelligent and faithful performance of the responsible and onerous duties of his office), surpassed himself this day in the intrepid manner with which he bore himself throughout the conflict, rallying the troops again and again, and urging them forward to the scene of action. In this work, under the hottest fire of the enemy, and until we had swept their intrenchments and carried the hill, he was faithfully, fearlessly, and gallantly assisted by Maj. L. A. Maclean, assistant adjutant-general.”
Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, July 4, 1863
Review of “Fight For Missouri” by Thomas L. Snead
Overland monthly and Out West magazine, volume 8, issue 4, July 1886
This is a book of rare merit. It covers a limited period of history, but deals with matters pregnant with the fate of the nation. In the desperate struggle for the preservation of the Union, the adhesion of Missouri to the national cause more than offset the disaster and disgrace of Bull Run. In the beginning of 1861, our author was the editor and proprietor of a secession newspaper in St. Louis, and took a permanent part in the effort to disrupt the Union. Now, after the lapse of twenty-five years, he tells the story of the struggle, from the election of Lincoln to the battle of Wilson’s Creek, on the part of himself, Governor Jackson, Lieutenant-Governor Reynolds, and other States-rights leaders, backed by a large part of the people of the State, to carry Missouri out of the Union. How and why they failed is made clearly to appear. It is the finest tribute to General Lyon and Frank P. Blair yet written, for it is the tribute of an honorable foe, who admits that every scheme and every plan formed by the Secessionists of Missouri were divined and frustrated by the penetration and resolute courage of these two men. No man can rise from its perusal without feeling profound respect and admiration for General Lyon. Our obligations to him are indeed great, and no men are more conscious of it than the foes whom he foiled. To him and to Blair belong the principal credit of saving Missouri to the Union. General Sterling Price was originally strongly opposed ot secession, but the claims of blood and association were too strong for him, when he saw that war was inevitable, and like Lee, he drew his sword but reluctantly, for the defense, as he thought, of kindred and country. His noble, generous character and magnificent courage receive fitting eulogy from our author. The battle of Wilson’s Creek, coming so shortly after Bull Run, showed the metal of which our northern soldiers were made, and is here graphically, and no doubt accurately, described. Impartiality, as near as is possible to attain, careful work, personal knowledge, and a pleasant style, commend the work of our author to his countrymen.