Thomas Blanchard, a native of Perry County, Indiana, and a millwright by trade, enlisted in the 7th Missouri Cavalry in December 1861 at Macon City for three years. He served as a duty sergeant and company quartermaster sergeant. Re-enlisting in 1864, he transferred to the 1st Missouri Cavalry when the 7th and 1st were consolidated in early 1865. He mustered out of the 1st Missouri on September 1, 1865, as a first sergeant. Blanchard applied for a federal pension in 1880, but details of his later life are unknown.

The 7th participated in the Battle of Prairie Grove, the campaign to capture Little Rock, and Frederick Steele’s Camden Expedition.

Carte-de-Visite by J.M. Carter, Madrid, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11754