John Thomas Croxton (November 20, 1836 – April 16, 1874) was an attorney, a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a postbellum U.S. diplomat.
Croxton was born near Paris, Kentucky, in rural Bourbon County. He was the oldest son among the twelve children of a Virginia-born wealthy plantation owner and slave owner. In 1857, he graduated with honors from Yale University, where he was a member of the secretive Skull and Bones S...
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John Thomas Croxton (November 20, 1836 – April 16, 1874) was an attorney, a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a postbellum U.S. diplomat.
Croxton was born near Paris, Kentucky, in rural Bourbon County. He was the oldest son among the twelve children of a Virginia-born wealthy plantation owner and slave owner. In 1857, he graduated with honors from Yale University, where he was a member of the secretive Skull and Bones Society. 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 Catherine Rogers (1833-1882) and raised three daughters. His ardent support for the emancipation of slaves alienated him from much of his family.
Cold War In October 1861, as the...
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