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

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He later was a founding resident of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. 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 at the 2020 census ...

Biography

Alexander Ewing was born in Connecticut in 1768 and most likely grew up in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania; 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 *Cumberl ...

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 a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. 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 (, 'River of Sturgeon') is a river in southeast Michigan, United States, that flows in a generally easterly direction through Ice age, glacial sediments before emptying into Lake Erie. The River Raisin drainage basin covers app ...

in Frenchtown,

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

(present-day Monroe,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

). The family later moved to

Piqua, Ohio Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, Ohio, United States, along the Great Miami River. The population was 20,354 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, it is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metro ...

. In the

Ewing became a colonel in the Miami County militia which joined General Harrison in his relief expedition to

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. 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 at the 2020 United S ...

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, 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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

operations. In 1838, Ewing's brother, William, the first man to be admitted to the Allen County bar, built the Ewing Homestead at the northwest corner of Berry Street. Although no longer standing, it was considered to be a leading example of

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

in the area.

References

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

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...