The Thanks of Congress by resolution of March 1865 stated:

“The thanks of Congress are due, and hereby tendered, to Maj. Gen. Geo. H. Thomas and the officers and soldiers under his command for their skill and dauntless courage, by which the rebel army and Gen. Hood was signally defeated and driven from the state of Tennessee.”

The Thanks of Congress citations were published in the Congressional Record to honor officers and enlisted men of the U.S. Army and Navy from late 1861 through May 1866. These citations were made sparingly – only 15 each for army and and navy personnel during the entire war. Highly prized, a Thanks of Congress citation was almost always included in any biographical sketch of a Union officer.