Two of his foster brothers served as major generals in the Union Army during the Civil War: Hugh Boyle Ewing, later an ambassador and author, and Thomas Ewing, Jr., who would serve as defense attorney in the military trials of the Lincoln conspirators.
To af hans fosterbrødre blev generalmajorer i unionshæren under borgerkrigen: Hugh Boyle Ewing, som senere blev ambassadør og forfatter, og Thomas Ewing, Jr., som senere blev forsvarer i krigsretten mod præsident Lincolns attentatmænd.