THISTLE
1904
THOMAS
back to the time of Charles V. It was these foreign interests that prolonged the war for the next 13 years.'*
At this juncture Prance comes upon the scene, taking the side of the Protestant powers of Germany at the very period when she was persecuting her own Protestant subjects. The reason, however, was not only her desire to crush the power of the house of Hapsburg, ascendant then both in Spain and in Austria, but, among other objects, to secure possession of Alsace and Lorraine for France and the empire. This was the motive and ambition of Richelieu, who coveted the Rhine provinces. Meanwhile, though the war had been maintained in the Protestant interest by Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, the latter met with a sanguinary defeat (Aug. 27, 1634) at Nordlingen in Bavaria; and by the following spring the whole of southern Germany was in the hands of the imperialists. In spite of this check Bernhard and the Swedes continued the struggle, and four years later he defeated the imperialists at Rheinfelden, and captured Breisach. While these events were happening, Ferdinand II died and was succeeded by Ferdinand III who pursued the same ultramontane policy; and Bern-hard himself also died. France and Sweden meanwhile prosecuted the terms of their alliance, the French invading the Spanish Netherlands; the Dutch destroyed a Spanish fleet; and Portugal, taking advantage of an insurrection in Spain, regained independence. The end now came in sight, for France on the Rhine had Cond£ and Turenne, the great generals, at the head of her armies, and Mazarin had succeeded Richelieu as French prime minister. Conde* defeated the Spanish at Rocroi near the Belgian frontier; and at Allerheim he routed the imperialists (Aug. 3, 1645). Turenne, on the other hand, effecting a junction with the Swedish army, with it invaded Bavaria and overthrew Maximilian, who had been one of the chief organizers of the Catholic League. The war terminated with the peace of West-phalia (Oct. 24,1648) and the occupation by the Protestant army of Prague, where the struggle had had its commencement. The gains of the war fell chiefly to France and Sweden; while Lutherans, Calvinists and Catholics alike were accorded religious freedom. But Germany did not recover for 200 years.
G. M. A. THISTLE Thistle 0**s"Q, the
name of species of certain <renera of the composite family, popularly characterized by being stout and spiny. The genus to which the common thistles belong is Cnicus, Some of them are among our worst weeds, and their seed-like fruits (akenes) with plumy tufts of soft hairs are wafted everywhere on currents of air. The well-known Canadian thistle (C. arvensis} is wrongly named, as it is a noxious weed from Europe.
Thom'asaKem'pis. See KEMPIS. Thomas, Saint, one of the 12 disciples of Christ, is rarely mentioned in the New Testament. He is called doubting Thomas, as he refused to believe in the resurrection of Jesus until he had seen and touched Him. According to various accounts he preached either in Parthia, Egypt, Ethiopia or India. Thomas, George Henry, an American general, was born in Southampton County, Va., July 31, 1816. He was graduated from West Point in 1840, W. T. Sherman being a member of the same class. He served in the Seminole and Mexican Wars, and later was appointed a professor at West Point. For six years lie was iu service in California and Texas. On the outbreak of the Civil War he remained t loyal to the Union, and was made a brigadier-general. He served first in the valley of Virginia, but was soon sent to Kentucky and placed in command of a division. Here in Jan., 1862, he defeated the Confederate forces under Zollicoffer, and was promoted to major-general. In the hard-fought battle of Stone River, Tenn., he rendered distinguished service, showing his characteristic staying qualities. In the battle of Chickamauga, when the Union right was routed and Gen. Rosecians gave up the field for lost, Thomas, who was in command of the left, held his position against the repeated onslaughts of the victorious Confederates, thus saving the army and earning the title of The Rock of Chickamauga. In the battle of Missionary Ridge Thomas with the army of the Cumber and held the Union center, which carried the enemy's intrenchments, scaled the heights and took the Confederate lines on the crest. Thomas rendered conspicuous service in the Atlanta campaign, which ended in the capture of that city. When Sherman started on his march to Savannah, Thomas was left to oppose the Confederate army under Hood, who moved west and north toward Nashville. While concentrating his.forces at Nashville, Thomas
GEORGE HENRY THOMAS
