Thomas Murray was born in Kentucky on May 2, 1835; he later moved to Missouri and became a newspaper editor. On July 4, 1861, he joined the 4th Infantry Regiment, 8th Division, Missouri State Guard at Warsaw, Missouri, and was elected major; he resigned on August 13, 1861, after fighting at Carthage and Wilson’s Creek. Murray was commissioned major of the 11th Missouri Infantry on September 15, 1862.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 24, 1863, and slightly wounded four months later at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas. He was wounded a second time on April 9, 1864, at the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. His service records indicate that Murray surrendered and was paroled in Louisiana on June 7, 1865.

Murray died on September 26, 1884, in Collin County, Texas.

Carte-de-Visite by G.H. McConnell, St. Louis, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11479