Friedberg 361 (W-822). 1890 $5 Treasury Note. PCGS Currency Gem New 66 PPQ.Offered is another wonderful elite level Treasury Note from the Joel R. Anderson Collection. PCGS Currency has graded no other Fr.361 (W-822) finer than the present example. The face centering is absolutely superb with large even margins perfectly framing the ornate face design. Union Major General George H. Thomas is portrayed at center. This variety displays the engraved signatures of Treasury officials Rosecrans and Nebeker along with a small red scalloped Treasury Seal near the bottom right. All 1890 Treasury Notes have an ornately designed back print which involves all but the borders. These 1890 notes are commonly referred to as "Fancy Back" notes, and this $5 Treasury Note easily attests to that nickname as it displays vivid detail, accomplished in striking green inks. PCGS Currency has graded just four examples of this catalog number in the Gem grade range with only two achieving a 66 PPQ grade and none surpassing that level. Any collector will have a hard time finding a nicer example of the type.<p><p><strong>General George H. Thomas "The Rock of Chickamauga"</strong><p>Unlike most Union generals Thomas was a southerner, born in Newsoms Depot, Virginia in 1816. His family owned slaves who worked their plantation-style farm, and as a young man Thomas witnessed first-hand the violent slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. In 1836 Thomas was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a close friend and roommate of William T. Sherman.<p><p>After graduation Thomas served in an artillery company where he became close friends with future Confederate general Braxton Bragg. In 1851 Thomas returned to West Point as an instructor working closely under the schools superintendent Robert E. Lee. While an instructor at West Point, Thomas taught future Confederate generals J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee. In 1855 Thomas was made a Major in the 2nd Cavalry by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. Many of the cavalrys officers were southerners and when the Civil War broke out in 1861, 19 of the 36 officers resigned, including superiors Albert Sidney Johnston and Robert E. Lee.<p><p>Many southern-born officers struggled with loyalty to their home states and to the Union they served. Virginians especially resigned their United States Army commissions in support of defending their home state. Perhaps influenced by his northern-born wife, Thomas stayed with the Union Army. In response, Thomas family back home, including his five siblings, completely disowned him and remained estranged from him for the rest of his life.<p><p>Thomas was rapidly promoted through the ranks at the onset of the war, achieving the rank of major general by April 1862. Thomas made a name for himself while leading the defense of a Union retreat at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863. As Union lines collapsed against a brutal Confederate assault led by Thomas old friend Braxton Bragg, Thomas rallied shattered units at Horseshoe Ridge to hold off the advancing Confederate forces long enough to prevent an all-out rout. Future president James Garfield, who was serving as a Union field officer during the battle and had visited Thomas on the field, reported back that Thomas was standing "like a rock" in defense of his position. After the battle Thomas became widely known as the "Rock of Chickamauga."<p><p>In the post-war Reconstruction era Thomas led various military districts, setting up commissions to protect the rights of freeman and using military forces to defend against threats of the Ku Klux Klan. He was serving as commander of the Military District of the Pacific in San Francisco when he died from a stroke in 1870 at the age of 53. None of Thomas blood relatives attended his funeral, having never forgiven him for taking up arms against Virginia. He was buried in Troy, New York.<p><p><strong>PCGS Population: </strong>2, none finer.<em>From Ossies Fixed Price List of December 1977; Bowers & Merenas sale of August 1987, lot 1656; Stacks sale of March 1993, lot 278; Lyn Knights sale of October 2005, lot 292.</em>
