John T. Croxton

John Thomas Croxton
John Thomas Croxton
	United States Ambassador to Bolivia
	In office; April 9, 1873 – April 16, 1874
President	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Leopold Markbreit
Succeeded by	Robert M. Reynolds
Personal details
Born	November 20, 1836; 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment; 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIV Corps; 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland
Battles/wars	American Civil War

John Thomas Croxton (November 20, 1836 – April 16, 1874) was an attorney, a general in the United States Army during the American Civil War, and a Reconstruction era U.S. diplomat.

Early life and career

Croxton was born near

planter and slave owner named Henry Croxton. In 1857, he graduated with honors from Yale University, where he was a member of the Skull and Bones secret society.^[1]^: 87 He subsequently studied law under prominent attorney James Robinson and eventually joined the Freemasonry

movement.

Croxton was admitted to the bar and taught law courses at a school in Mississippi in 1858. He returned to Kentucky the following year and established a profitable law practice in Paris, as well as owning a small farm outside of town. He married Caroline Rogers (1833–1882) and raised three daughters. His ardent support for the emancipation of slaves alienated him from much of his family.

Civil War

In October 1861, as the Civil War escalated,

4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. He saw his first significant fighting in the Battle of Mill Springs. He later rose to its colonel in early 1862, and fought at Perryville. On September 19, 1863, his infantry brigade tangled with Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest, touching off the Battle of Chickamauga. Croxton was wounded during the fighting. He suffered a leg wound at the Battle of Nashville

.

In 1864, he was promoted to

Benjamin Jefferson Hill

. This is said to have been the last battle of the Civil War, east of the Mississippi.

Reconstruction era career

In the omnibus promotions following the cessation of hostilities, Croxton was brevetted as a major general. He was then appointed to command the District of Southwest Georgia as provincial governor until he resigned on December 26, 1865.

After his resignation from the army, Croxton returned to his Kentucky law practice and became a staunch supporter of the Republican Party. In 1872, he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as the U.S. Minister to Bolivia and moved his family to La Paz. He died there in April 1874, suffering from consumption.