James A . Ekin James Adams Ekin ( August 31 , 1819 – March 27 , 1891 ) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War . He achieved fame as a member of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln . Early life . Ekin was born August 31 , 1819 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , to James and Susan Burling ( Bayard ) Ekin . His mother was a daughter of Colonel Stephen A . Bayard of the Continental Army . He served an apprenticeship as a steamboat builder , which eventually led to his first career as a steamboat builder in Pittsburgh . Civil War . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Ekin enlisted April 25 , 1861 in the 12th Pennsylvania Infantry ( a 3 - month regiment ) as a lieutenant and was assigned regimental quartermaster . Ekin mustered out with the regiment on August 5 , 1861 at Harrisburg , Pennsylvania . He was subsequently promoted captain and assistant quartermaster August 7 , 1861 and served in the Quartermaster ' s Department . Ekin and was promoted to lieutenant colonel February 15 , 1864 , then promoted again to colonel August 2 , 1864 . He was brevetted in the regular army major , lieutenant colonel , colonel and brigadier general , all on March 13 , 1865 . In addition to his volunteer ranks , Ekin was made a captain in the regular army March 13 , 1863 , lieutenant colonel and deputy quartermaster general July 29 , 1865 . Lincoln assassination trial . Despite his excellent service in the Army quartermaster department , Ekin is remembered largely for his participation as a member of the military tribunal that heard the case against eight conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln . Post - war service . Ekin remained in the U . S . Army following the Civil War with the rank of lieutenant colonel and deputy quartermaster general until February 13 , 1882 when he was promoted to colonel . He retired from the Army on August 31 , 1883 . Posts . Ekin served at Pittsburgh , as acting assistant commissary of subsistence in 1861 ; at Indianapolis , Indiana , as assistant quartermaster , 1861 – 1863 ; at Washington , D . C . , as quartermaster of the cavalry bureau , 1863 – 1864 ; as chief quartermaster of the Cavalry Corps , Army of the Potomac , in 1864 ; as officer in charge of the 1st division , Quartermaster General ' s Office , Washington , D . C . , 1864 – 1870 ; as chief quartermaster of the 5th District , Department of Texas , Department of the South , and Department of Louisville , Kentucky until his retirement . Family . Ekin married Diana Craighead Walker and together they had five children : James Adams ( 1844 – 1847 ) , Nancy Walker ( 1845 – 1868 ) , Mary Elizabeth ( 1847 – 1934 ) , Susan Bayard ( 1849 ) , and William Moody ( 1853 – 1907 ) . Mary Elizabeth Ekin married Augustus Everett Willson July 23 , 1877 , who served as the 36th Governor of Kentucky , 1907 – 1911 . William M . Ekin followed in his father ' s career and joined the U . S . Army , rising to the rank of captain in the Quartermaster ' s Department . Ekin died March 27 , 1891 in Louisville , Kentucky and was buried in Cave Hill National Cemetery . In popular culture . Eakin is portrayed in the film " The Conspirator " ( 2010 ) by actor John Deifer .