Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-02-08
NOTED KANSAS SOLDIER AMI
STATESMAN PASSES AWAY.
HAD SERVED IN THREE WARS
WAS MINISTER TO BOLIVIA Ann
GOVERNOR OF WYOMING,
Colonel Thomas Moonlight Dies Mt
Leavenw0rth, of the Grip-Has
Been Prominent, In Kansas
Affairs for Half
Century.

| LEAVENWORTH. Feb. 7.-(Special.,
| Colonel Thomas Moonlight, ex-minister tc
f, Bolivia and ex-governor of Wyoming, dice
in this city at 2:30 o'clock this morning al
| the residence of his daughter Mrs. E. E
| Murphy. He was g. years of age. Death
| was caused by an aggravated case of grI
| with which he has been suffering for some
| time. About week ago he had a bad
| case Of coughing which resulted in hem
morrhage from the lungs and he has been
growing steadily worse ever since The
funeral will be held from the late residence
Thursday afternoon. The active pallbear-
ers will be young men friends Of the de-
ceased and the honorary ones will be men,
bers Of the Loyal Legion and the Odd
Fellows, in both of which orders the de-
ceased has long been prominent.
Colonel Moonlight has been for nearly
half century one of the most prominent
of kansans. both in the political arena and
in that of several wars. He was born In
Scotland and came to this country when
he was IA years of age. He enlisted in the
army when he became of age and saw SER
vice against the Indians in Florida. AT the
beginning Of the civil war. when he was
making his home in this city, he raised a
battery of light artillery and was assigned
to General Lanes brigade. For gallant
and meritoriouS conduct in the field he
was promoted to colonelcy and was at
tached to General Blounts brigade as ad-
jutant general with the brevet rank of
brigadier general.
Colonel Moonlight served through the try
ing campaigns in this state, and peculiar
coincidence in connection with this is the
fact that Hiram Bledsoe, who recently
passed away, served against Colonel Moon-
light in the battle of Drywood. Vernon
county. in 1861. Moonlight. became the
mainstay of Blount during their fierce cam
pa1gns, and became noted as a man Of
great and daring courage. After career
OF particular distinction, with his name a
byword for heroism in the mouth of all
Missourians, at the end OF the war, he de-
termined to drop the sword and he entered
politics. He was offered a captaincy in the
regular army but he thought that he was
deserving of a better recognition of his SER
vices.
He held several local and state offices and
became power in state politics, but he
was prOverbally unlucky when it came to
running for any of the higher offices. He
was defeated for the governorship of the
state by few votes. and Case Broderick
beat him out in the race for congress. He
mas mas been city marshal. state senator, sec
President Cleveland, during his first term,
appointed Colonel Moonlight minister to
BOLIVIA. and when he took the highest Of
ilce in the land the second time, he cared
Ior the grim warrior by appointing him
governor of Wyoming.
Just previous to his death, Colonel Moon.
light purchased large farm south of this
city and was going into the .sheepraisins
business extensively. The children who
survive him are Mrs. E. E. Murphy of this
city; Mrs Bennett Brown, of Huntington,
ARK: Mrs J. w. Haussermann, wife of
Lieutenant Haussermann, Company G.
twentieth Kansas volunteers, now at Ma,
Mia; and Walter 8. Moonlight also SOL
oler with the Kansas regiment in Manila