Alexander Ewing (May 28, 1768 – January 1, 1827) was a soldier for the Continental Army during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He later was a founding resident of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

Biography

Alexander Ewing was born in Connecticut in 1768 and most likely grew up in

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury. The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancas ...

; his ancestors are believed to have descended from Clan Ewing. Ewing enlisted as a private in the First Company, Fourth Battalion of the

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

Militia, serving from 10 August 1780 until the end of the war. After the war Ewing joined a trading expedition, eventually setting up a trading post in a remote wilderness that would later become

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. After losing his farm to debt, Ewing moved new wife Charolette and his young family to join his brothers Samuel and William in the

River Raisin The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States, that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost ,U.S. Geological Survey. ...

in Frenchtown, Michigan Territory (present-day Monroe,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

). The family later moved to

Piqua, Ohio Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded as the village of Washington in ...

. In the

Ewing became a colonel in the Miami County militia which joined General Harrison in his relief expedition to Fort Wayne in 1812. Colonel Ewing served with the army in a detachment of spies under his brother-in-law, Captain William Griffith, who was a survivor of the Ford Dearborn Massacre. In the aftermath of the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, in Upper Canada, near Chatham. The Britis ...

, Ewing helped to identify Tecumseh's body, whom he knew well from his days as a trader. In the spring of 1822 Ewing moved his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and built the city's first tavern, later known as Washington Hall, at the corner of Barr and Columbia streets. It was here that Allen County was formed in 1824. Ewing's sons would later flourish financially by establishing one of the West's largest

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

operations.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Alexander 1768 births 1827 deaths Continental Army soldiers People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution American militiamen in the War of 1812 People from Fort Wayne, Indiana People from Windham County, Connecticut Colonial American merchants Businesspeople from Indiana