Thomas H. Sparks was too young to enlist in the Civil War but resolved to be near his brother, Capt. George W. Sparks. He joined him as a drummer boy, carrying a drum that had been made on his father's plantation in Warthen and painted with the name, "T.H. Sparks, Fourth Georgia Vols, C.S.A." His uniform was spun and loomed from wool supplied by the sheep raised on the family plantation. During the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, in June of 1864, every man was needed to handle a gun in the fierce fight, so Thomas gave his drum to a wagoner nearby, as he fought his way to the front. He was captured during that battle and endured great hardship at a prison in Elmira, New York, but was later exchanged with other prisoners. He lost three brothers during the war, a much more devastating loss than that of his drum.

Nearly 50 years later, an Atlanta newspaper ran an article entitled, "Who Beat This War Drum of the Sixties?" The story said the drum had been picked up on the battlefield of Cold Harbor, and has since been knocking around from owner to owner in the North. The present person in possession of the drum, William Scott, had written Adjutant Nash in an effort to locate the owner of the drum or his relatives, assuming the drummer boy had been killed in battle. But the drummer boy, Thomas H. Sparks, was very much alive. After further correspondence, the drum bearing a bullet hole, in addition to the coat of arms of the Sparks family and the inscription of ownership, was returned to Sandersville, where a joyous welcome awaited it.

Enlisted as a private in Company B, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, Georgia State Troops October 3, 1861. Mustered out April 3, 1862. Enlisted as a private in Company B, 59th Regiment, Georgia Infantry May 8, 1862. Wounded and captured at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 5, 1863. In Letterman Hospital there August 10, 1863. Exchanged at City Point, Virginia, November 17, 1863. Appointed Field Musician. Surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, April 9, 1865.

Married to Martha Elizabeth Mathis on 28 Nov 1872 in Washington County, Georgia