James Ewing ( Pennsylvania ) James Ewing ( 1736 – 1806 ) was a Pennsylvania soldier , statesman , and politician of the Colonial , Revolutionary and post - Revolutionary eras . He served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and also as Vice - President of Pennsylvania , a position comparable to that of Lieutenant Governor . Early life and family . James Ewing was born in 1736 in Lancaster County , Pennsylvania , the son of Thomas Ewing and Susanna Howard . Thomas Ewing was an Ulster - Scottish immigrant and had served in the Assembly when James was young . James married Patience Wright . Military service . In 1755 young Ewing joined General Edward Braddock ’ s expedition into western Pennsylvania , and in 1758 he served as a lieutenant in the Pennsylvania militia . On July 4 , 1776 , Ewing was commissioned a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia . Characterized by historian David Hackett Fischer as a " hard - driving Scotch - Irish border chieftain " , Ewing commanded a brigade of five regiments at the time of Washington ' s crossing of the Delaware on the night of December 25 – 26 , 1776 , in a surprise attack on the Hessian forces in Trenton , New Jersey . Ewing ' s force , positioned directly across from Trenton , was unable to cross the river because of the ice . Although Ewing has sometimes been criticized by historians for failing to join Washington on the other side of the river , Fischer argues that no one could have crossed the river at that point that night . Washington did not blame General Ewing , writing that " the Quantity of Ice was so great , that tho ' he did every thing in his power to effect it , he could not get over . " Political service . Ewing represented York County in the General Assembly from 1771 through 1776 . In early 1776 he was one of the few Assemblymen calling for an immediate break with Great Britain . It was , in part , his enthusiasm for Independence that led to his general ’ s commission on July 4 . Following Independence Ewing aligned himself with wealthy business interests , as a Republican and Anti - Constitutionalist ( the latter movement being opposed to the unicameral legislature of Pennsylvania ’ s 1776 Constitution ) , and later as a Federalist . In 1781 he won a seat on the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania . On November 7 , 1782 , Ewing was elected Vice - President of Pennsylvania , earning thirty nine votes to the thirty four won by the incumbent , James Potter . ( The position of Vice - President is analogous to the modern office of Lieutenant Governor . ) He was unanimously reelected on November 6 , 1783 , and served until November 6 , 1784 , when he was succeeded by James Irvine . At one day short of two years , his vice - presidential term was one of the longest in the history of that short - lived office . In 1784 Ewing served a one - year term in the General Assembly . As Vice - President of Pennsylvania Ewing served as a " ex officio " member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania . In 1783 he also served as a trustee of Dickinson College in Carlisle , Pennsylvania . In 1789 he chaired a committee seeking to improve navigation on the Susquehanna River . In 1795 he returned to elected office , as a Federalist member of the State Senate . James Ewing died at his home near York , Pennsylvania , in 1806 .