Thayer served as a lieutenant in the local militia company before deciding to move with his family to the West.

[1] Arriving in Nebraska in 1854, he quickly affiliated himself with the Republican Party and actively participated in politics, as well as owning a large farm near Omaha.

Thayer served as delegate to the 1860 State Constitution Convention which organized the Republican Party in the Nebraska Territory.

He resigned his legislative seat in June 1861 to become Colonel of the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment,[2] and spent the entire war fighting in the Western Theater.

He commanded a brigade under Lew Wallace in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Siege of Corinth.

Thayer's home in Lincoln, Nebraska is listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

In February 1865, Thayer was relieved of command of Fort Smith and sent to the smaller post at St. Charles, Arkansas, with a regiment of Kansas cavalry and a single artillery battery.

President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Thayer Governor of the Territory of Wyoming in February 1875 and he took the oath of office March 1, 1875.

In 1886, Thayer secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination and was elected Governor of Nebraska by popular vote.

[12] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress