Jesup was born on December 16, 1788, in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia), the son of James Edward and Ann (O'Neill) Jesup, and a descendant of Edward Jessup who emigrated from England and was in Stamford, Connecticut, as early as 1649.
Thomas was commissioned from Ohio as a second lieutenant in the 7th Infantry on May 3, 1808, and as a first lieutenant, December 1, 1809. During the War of 1812 he served as brigademajor and adjutant-general on the staff of General William Hull. He was promoted captain, January 20, 1813, and major, 19th Infantry, on April 6, 1813. For distinguished and meritorious service in the battle of Chippewa, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel on July 5, 1814, and for gallant conduct and distinguished skill in the battle of Niagara (Lundy's Lane), where he was severely wounded, he was brevetted colonel on July 25, 1814.
In December of that year he was sent to Connecticut, ostensibly to recruit, but really to watch the Hartford Convention. Convinced that a resolution to secede could not be passed, he was able to dispel President Madison's fears. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on April 30, 1817, and served as such until March 27, of the following year, when he was appointed adjutant-general of the army with the rank of colonel. On May 8, 1818, while serving at Brownsville, Texas, he was appointed quartermaster-general with the rank of brigadier-general by President Monroe.
On May 8, 1828, he was commissioned major-general. He acted as a second to Henry Clay in the latter's bloodless duel with John Randolph of Roanoke on April 8, 1826. On May 19, 1836, by direction of President Jackson, he was assigned to the command of the United States troops and the troops of Georgia and Alabama then operating against the Indians in the Creek country, and on December 8, 1836, he succeeded Brigadier-General Richard Keith Call in command of the army in Florida. He was wounded in the face during a fight with the Seminole Indians at Jupiter Inlet on January 24, 1838. Relieved by General Zachary Taylor in May 1838, he resumed his duties as quartermastergeneral at Washington. Soon after his return, some senators questioned his conduct of the Seminole War with a view to provoking an inquiry. Senator Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, then chairman of the Senate committee on military affairs, ably championed Jesup and showed what he had accomplished in the face of great obstacles, to the satisfaction of the Senate and the country. Under the able direction of Jesup, the quartermaster department was organized upon a sound military and business basis. He put into effect practical directions, regulations, and blank forms for all the varied operations of his department. These were embodied in the elaborate edition of the Army Regulations issued in 1821, and many have not been changed in their essential characteristics since that time.
During the Mexican War, Jesup displayed characteristic qualities. He purchased and provided ships, boats, wagons, and animals in large numbers for the forces in the field, and went to the theatre of operations himself to renovate the supply system. When no funds were available for the purchase of tents and he could not wait for duck, he supplied ordinary muslin for what little shelter it might afford the expeditionary forces in Mexico. Officers of the quartermaster's department have always venerated him. His long service, forty-two years, as quartermastergeneral has never been equaled by the head of any other department or corps in the army.
Jesup died in Washington, D. C. and was succeeded as quartermaster-general by Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph E. Johnston. On Dec. 26, 1912, his remains were placed in the Arlington National Cemetery.
Known as the Father of the Modern Quartermaster Corps, he held the post as the 13th Quartermaster General for forty-two years and died while in office at age 72. Fort Jesup, Louisiana, established in 1822 and abandoned in 1846, and Camp Jesup, near Atlanta, Georgia, an inactive quartermaster depot, were named in his honor. A lake in Orange County, Florida, also bears his name.
Jesup married Ann Heron Croghan of Louisville, Kentucky, daughter of Major William and Lucy (Clark) Croghan, the latter a sister of George Rogers Clark and William Clark.
