James Ewing (Pennsylvania statesman)
| James Ewing | |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State Senate | |
|
In office 1795 – 1799 |
|
| Pennsylvania General Assembly | |
|
In office 1784–1785 |
|
| 5th Vice-President of Pennsylvania | |
|
In office 7 November 1782 – 6 November 1784 |
|
| Preceded by | James Potter |
| Succeeded by | James Irvine |
| Pennsylvania General Assembly representing York County | |
|
In office 1771–1776 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 3, 1736 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |
| Died |
March 1, 1806 (aged 69) York, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Federalist, Anti-Constitutionalist, Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Patience Wright |
| Profession | soldier, politician |
James Ewing (August 3, 1736 – March 1, 1806) was a Pennsylvania soldier, statesman, and politician of the Colonial, Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary eras. He served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and also as Vice-President of Pennsylvania, a position comparable to that of Lieutenant Governor.
James Ewing was born in 1736 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Ewing and Susanna Howard. Thomas Ewing was an Ulster-Scottish immigrant and had served in the Assembly when James was young. James married Patience Wright.
In 1755 young Ewing joined General Edward Braddock’s expedition into western Pennsylvania, and in 1758 he served as a lieutenant in the Pennsylvania militia.
On July 4, 1776, Ewing was commissioned a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia. Characterized by historian David Hackett Fischer as a "hard-driving Scotch-Irish border chieftain", Ewing commanded a brigade of five regiments at the time of Washington's crossing of the Delaware on the night of December 25–26, 1776, in a surprise attack on the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Ewing's force, positioned directly across from Trenton, was unable to cross the river because of the ice. Although Ewing has sometimes been criticized by historians for failing to join Washington on the other side of the river, Fischer argues that no one could have crossed the river at that point that night. Washington did not blame General Ewing, writing that "the Quantity of Ice was so great, that tho' he did every thing in his power to effect it, he could not get over."
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