[112]
As Adjutant of the Ninth Virginia Infantry he was severely wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill; wounded and taken prisoner at Gettysburg, and sent first to David's Island, N. Y., and later to Johnson's Island.
By his comrades of the trying days of the momentous struggle of the South, he is warmly beloved for admirably exemplified traits, nor is he less regarded universally in his honorable civil career.
Hon. R. S. Thomas is the second son of the mother of Judge Crocker, by her second marriage with James Thomas, and as ‘Mister Dick,’ as he is familiarly called by those of his section who know well why they should love him, writes: ‘His (Judge Crocker's) father died six months after he was born, and my father died some four years after my birth. My brother is nine years older than I am, and he has always been as a father to me, taking me by the hand to mould and shape my character and life.’
The addresses here printed are from revised copies by Judge Crocker.
For a graphic account of the battle of Malvern Hill, by a gallant participant therein, see the address of Captain John Lamb, Vol. XXV, Southern Historical Society Papers.—editor.]
