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Ewing, Jr., Thomas

General Thomas Ewing was both the brother (by Sherman’s adoption) and brother-in-law of William T. Sherman. Before the War, Ewing moved to Kansas and became a prominent attorney active in pro-abolition politics. He was the first Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court (1861-1862).

Ewing commanded the Department of Kansas in 1863, and in the wake of the Lawrence Massacre issued the infamous Order No. 11, which is said to be most drastic military action taken against American civilians before the Japanese internments of World War II.

Known more as an administrator than a field commander, Ewing nevertheless found himself in command of the garrison at Pilot Knob, Missouri, when Price approached that place during his famous 1864 raid. Ewing, by this time marked for death as a result of his Order No. 11, defended Fort Davidson against repeated assaults by vastly superior numbers. Escaping with the garrison, Ewing conducted one of the masterful retreats of the entire War. History, however, judges him by the events of 1863, and indeed his post-war political career was ruined by the stain of Order No. 11.

After the War, Ewing served as attorney for three of the Lincoln conspirators, including Dr. Mudd. He eventually practiced law in New York, where he died in 1896.

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