Thomas Moonlight

Thomas Moonlight (born November 10, 1833 in Boysack Muir near Arbroath , Scotland , † February 7, 1899 in Leavenworth , Kansas ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and general in the army of the Union .

Career

Moonlight immigrated to the United States at the age of just twelve. There he worked on farms on the east coast until he was 20 years old. Then he served for five years as a first sergeant in the 4th US Artillery Regiment . After the outbreak of the Civil War , he set up the 1st Kansas Volunteer Artillery Battery and became its captain . He spent most of the war in Kansas, where he fought against Bushwhackers and border guerrillas . In this context, he also persecuted the gang of William C. Quantrill after the Lawrence massacre . In 1864 he was promoted to Colonel and commanded the 3rd Military Division in the District of South Kansas . During the Price's Raid of Sterling Price that same year, he was in command of the 2nd Brigade , the 1st Division in the Army of the Border, and fought at the Battle of Westport . By the end of the war he was in command of the District of Colorado , where he cracked down on Indians on the plains. In 1865 he received a brevet - promotion to brigadier general .

After the war he returned to his farm and opted for a political career. He served as Secretary of State of Kansas and the Kansas Senate . From 1887 to 1889 he was governor of the Wyoming Territory . After his tenure, he served as the US envoy to Bolivia .

He died near Leavenworth, Kansas and was subsequently buried in Mount Muncie Cemetery .

Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3

personal data
SURNAME	Moonlight, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	November 10, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH	at Boysack Muir, Arbroath , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH	February 7, 1899
Place of death	at Leavenworth , Kansas