Captain Thompson was born in Georgia in 1828 and when war broke out, he would be elected captain of company G on July 20, 1861. He would command his company during the grueling marches and battles during the Summer of 1862. Entering Maryland in September, Thompson would find himself in Howell Cobb's brigade of Lafayette McLaws' division. On September 14, the 16th Georgia was positioned at Brownsville in the rear of McLaw's division as they worked to capture Maryland Heights during the operation against Harper's Ferry. When fighting broke out at Crampton's Gap, Cobb's brigade was ordered to the immediate support of the small Confederate force holding the gap. Arriving at the gap, Thompson would lead his company down to the Burkittsville Road to support the Confederate right. S the regiment was going into position, the Confederate center broke under the weight of the Union assault. Seeing a golden opportunity, the 16th Georgia and Cobb's Infantry Legion, under Jefferson M. Lamar, go into line of battle and begin pouring a murderous flanking fire into the, now, unorganized Union lines. Unknown to these two Confederate regiments, Alfred Torbert's New Jersey Brigade was advancing up the Burkittsville Road and slammed into the flank of Cobb's Legion. The two regiments would be mauled and during the fighting Captain Thompson would be wounded. Following the battle, Thompson would recover from his wound and remain in the Confederate service until he resigned in August 1863.
Sources:
Library of Congress. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/item/2012650008/ [Accessed 6/23/13]
USGenweb Archives. Roster: Company G, 16th Georgia. http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/jackson/military/civilwar/rosters/cog16.txt [Accessed 6/23/13]
Wiggins, David N. Remembering Georgia's Confederates. [Arcadia Publishing, 2005], pg. 32
