McEwan arrived with the Royal Irish at Philadelphia
on 11 July 1767. He served with the Grenadier Company throughout its American
Service travelling to Ft. Pitt, Ft. Chartres, Cahokia and then from
Philadelphia to New York City before embarking on the Empress of Russia for
Boston in October 1774. He would have been on the March to Concord and at
Bunker Hill. He was present when mustered on 7 October 1775 at Charles Town
Heights.
On 5 December 1775, McEwan was drafted into the 35th
Regiment of Foot and received into Capt. Phillip’s Coy. He was present with
that company on 25 June 1776 at Staten Island. He was transferred to Cpt.
Massey’s Coy on 19 April 1777 while at Brunswick, New Jersey. He was then
transferred to the Grenadier Coy for the Philadelphia Campaign which included
fighting at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. He wintered at
Philadelphia being still present on 6 February 1778. He returned to New York
City and was mustered their on 22 July 1778 with his regiment. That fall,
McEwan was embarked for the Caribbean with General Grant’s Command and the 35th
Foot fought at St. Lucia in December 1778. He was listed as present on St.
Lucia on 10 April and 19 August 1780. No further record of McEwan shows up
until he is listed as present at Dorchester, England on 4 August 1783. He was a
lucky man to have survived several years of active campaigning as well as the
disease ridden climate of the West Indies.[1]
