{⋆★⋆} LG Ewell, Richard Stoddert

Richard Stoddert Ewell​

Born: February 8, 1817

Birthplace: Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Father: Dr. Thomas Ewell 1785 – 1846

(Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Madison County, Tennessee)​

Mother: Elizabeth Stoddert 1785 – 1859

(Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Madison County, Tennessee)​

Wife: Lizinka Campbell Brown 1820 – 1872

(Buried: Nashville City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee)​

Married: May 26, 1863 in Richmond, Virginia

Education:

1840: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (13th​ in class)​

Occupation before war:

1840: Brevet 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

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1840 – 1845: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

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1840 – 1842: Frontier Duty at Fort Wayne, Indian Territory​

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1842 – 1843: Frontier Duty at Fort Scott, Kansas​

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1843: Escort for Santa Fe Traders​

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1843 – 1844: Frontier Duty at Fort Scott, Kansas​

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1844 – 1845: Recruiting Duty for United States Army​

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1845: Frontier Duty at Fort Scott, Kansas​

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1845: Participated in the March to Arkansas River​

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1845 – 1847: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

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1845: Frontier Duty at Fort Scott, Kansas​

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1846: Served on the Coast Survey​

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1846: Recruiting Service for United States Army​

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1846 – 1848: Served in the Mexican War​

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1847 – 1849: Brevet Captain United States Army​

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1848 – 1850: Recruiting Service for United States Army​

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1849 – 1861: Captain United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

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1850 – 1851: Frontier Duty at Rayado, New Mexico​

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1861: Resigned from United States Army on May 7, 1861​

Civil War Career:

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1861: Colonel of Confederate Army Cavalry​

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1861: Wounded during the Skirmish at Fairfax Court House​

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1861 – 1862: Brigadier General of Confederate Army Infantry​

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1861: Participated in First Battle of Bull Run saw little action​

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1862: Participated in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign​

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1862: Participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run​

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1862: Wounded in left leg had to be amputated Battle of Groveton​

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1863 – 1865: Lt. General of Confederate Army Infantry​

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1863 – 1864: Commander of 2nd​ Army Corps, Army of Northern Virginia​

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1863: Participated in the Battle of Gettysburg wounded in wooden leg​

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1864: Participated in the Battle of the Wilderness​

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1864: Participated in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House​

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1864 – 1865: Garrison Commander in Richmond, Virginia​

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1865: Surrendered and Captured during Battle of Saylor's Creek​

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1865: Prisoner of War held at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor until July​

Occupation after War:

1865 – 1872: Farmer in Springfield, Tennessee​

Leased a cotton plantation in Mississippi for planting cotton​

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President of Columbia Female Academy board of trustees​

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Communicant for St. Peter's Episcopal Church​

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President of Maury County Agricultural Society​

Died: January 25, 1872

Place of Death: Spring Hill, Tennessee

Cause of Death: Pneumonia

Age at time of Death: 54 years old

Burial Place: Nashville City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee

From The Nashville Republican Banner, January 27, 1872

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[Paul Yancey]

Very good post. His wife was his first cousin, which was not that uncommon during that time period. His wife's son from her first marriage served on Ewell's staff. I always felt that he was a very good commander for the most part, although I wish he had been more aggressive at Gettysburg. He certainly performed well alongside Jackson in the Valley Campaign.

I found this description of Ewell on Wikipedia, which is how the historian Larry Tagg described him in the "Generals of Gettysburg."

"Rather short at 5 feet 8 inches, he had just a fringe of brown hair on an otherwise bald, bomb-shaped head. Bright, bulging eyes protruded above a prominent nose, creating an effect which many likened to a bird - an eagle, some said, or a woodcock - especially when he let his head droop toward one shoulder, as he often did, and uttered strange speeches in his shrill, twittering lisp. He had a habit of muttering odd remarks in the middle of normal conversation, such as "Now why do you suppose President Davis made me a major general anyway?" He could be spectacularly, blisteringly profane. He was so nervous and fidgety he could not sleep in a normal position, and spent nights curled around a camp stool. He had convinced himself that he had some mysterious internal "disease," and so subsisted almost entirely on frumenty, a dish of hulled wheat boiled in milk and sweetened with sugar. A "compound of anomalies" was how one friend summed him up. He was the reigning eccentric of the Army of Northern Virginia, and his men, who knew first hand his bravery and generosity of spirit, loved him all the more for it."

 

[Pollaco]

Before the war He was a company officer who never adjusted to commanding large scale units.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday General Ewell!

 

[Tom Elmore]

I don't think one can be wounded in a wooden leg.

During the day [July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg], General Ewell, accompanied by Captain [Henry Brown] Richardson, his Chief of Engineers, rode past our brigade and started on a little reconnoitering tour on a road that entered the town where our left rested. We told him it was dangerous. The old General declared that they [the Federals] were fully 1,500 yards distant. He had not proceeded 20 paces when a ball perforated his wooden leg and Captain Richardson was shot through the body. [Civil War Memoirs of Captain Wm. J. Seymour, Hays' brigade, Louisiana Tigers]

 

[jackt62]

Very timely thread. I've just started reading a biography of Ewell by Donald Pfanz.

 

[Norman Dasinger Jr]

The Gen Ewell of 1862 was not the Gen Ewell of 1864. Promise that was unfulfilled.

 

[Harman Farm]

Happy Birthday General Ewell!!!!

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

I think he was an above average general, until he was promoted and appointed a Corps Commander. Even then, I believe he was average, just way in over his head.

 

[Pollaco]

About all I can say is "Happy Birthday".

 

[Pollaco]

It's far from being a record but I have read that he had 5 horses shot from under him during the war.

 

[farrargirl]

Did not realize his childhood home was near Manassas...

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Lt. General Richard S. Ewell! Salutes remembering General Ewell on his birthday.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life by Donald C. Pfanz

Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life (Civil War America): Pfanz, Donald C.: 9780807823897: Amazon.com: Books

Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life (Civil War America) [Pfanz, Donald C.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life (Civil War America)

www.amazon.com

The Letters of General Richard S. Ewell: Stonewall's Successor by Donald C. Pfanz

The Letters of General Richard S. Ewell: Stonewall’s Successor (Voices of the Civil War): Pfanz, Donald C.: 9781572338739: Amazon.com: Books

The Letters of General Richard S. Ewell: Stonewall’s Successor (Voices of the Civil War) [Pfanz, Donald C.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Letters of General Richard S. Ewell: Stonewall’s Successor (Voices of the Civil War)

www.amazon.com

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[gentlemanrob]

Today marks the birthday of Lt. General Richard S. "Fighting Dick" Ewell. Salutes

 

[danny]

The Gen Ewell of 1862 was not the Gen Ewell of 1864. Promise that was unfulfilled.

Sad but true

 

[Luke Freet]

Ewell's honestly one of the most interesting of the AoNV commanders. Certainly eccentric and bizarre looking, as many account point out. His record as a commander is rather mixed. Successes during the Valley Campaign, Second Winchester, & the Wilderness are often forgotten compared to his performance at Gettysburg & Spotsylvania. It seems Lee didn't think too negatively of his performance at the former, but the latter certainly had some affect, as when Ewell left the army on May 26th, 1864, on a bout of illness, Lee immediately replaced him with Early, who would get a permanent promotion and command over the Valley forces, while Ewell got command of the less prestigious Department of Richmond.

Ewell had brought the issue of black recruitment for the Confederacy all the way back in July of 1861, and when the Confederate Congress finally passed the slave soldiers act, it was men from his staff who were first to begin recruiting efforts. Of course, this came to naught, as the fall of Petersburg & Richmond occurred soon afterwards. He fought his last battle, leading a mixed corps of veterans, militia, reserves, heavy artillery, and naval personnel, at Saylor's Creek, where, after a short sharp fight, his outmatched command was forced to surrender.

 

[Pollaco]

Wasn't it Ewell who supposedly remarked "If I wanted the opinion of a subordinate, I'd ask for it" when referring to Gen. Issac Trimble?

 

[Cavalier]

An altogether sympathetic character to my mind. Can't help but like this guy. But then I like Trimble too.

John

 

[USS ALASKA]

We need a profile on his older brother Benjamin Stoddert Ewell.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA