Taken from O R's & NARA
In June 1863, Beauregard tried to peddle Ripley to Joe Johnston, admitting that he "is not satisfied with my system & rule… [But] could be of much use to you" -Beauregard's attempt at what today might be called "addition by subtraction" failed.
In 1864, Ripley went to trial on formal charges of drunkenness while on duty at Fort Sumter. Witnesses testified to the fact ("from my own personal knowledge"), citing multiple instances. Fragments of the trial record survive, & contemporary accounts give some details, but the official transcript apparently burned at war's end. Among traits witnesses ascribed to Ripley were "a looseness of morals" & "rollicking habits."
Late in the war, Ripley also came under criticism for war profiteering in speculation & blockade running, making "lots of money."
A characteristic letter from Ripley to authorities in Richmond early in 1865 demanded that he not be assigned anywhere under Beauregard. The final note in his service record, dated Feb 14, nevertheless ordered precisely that—report to Beauregard.
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12/12/64 President to Beauregard, Charleston: Yours of this date received. Many eminent citizens of SC, the Governor included, have urged the retention of Gen Ripley at Charleston as conducive to its successful defense. At this time, it seems reasonable that his special knowledge, the result of long service in the exterior works, should be peculiarly valuable & I have been reluctant under the circumstances to remove him. The reiteration of your request for his removal leads me to suppose that there must be some greater necessity for it than had been communicated to me heretofore. If he cannot be trusted in his present position, you are authorized to relieve him & report more fully the facts of the case. If the cause be less grave, you will report its nature & await reply.
12/16/64 Cooper to Beauregard, Charleston-Is Ripley on duty as heretofore at Charleston? If not has he leave of absence?
12/16/64 Beauregard to Cooper-Ripley still on leave granted by Hardee on 11/22 for 30 days
12/24 Beauregard to Cooper-I am just informed that Ripley has applied for an extension to his leave. It is hoped his application will not be granted for he is ordered to report to Hood to command one of the SC Bgdes w/o a cdr.
1/10/65 Charleston (rec'd 14th) Hardee to Gen Cooper: Your telegram of the 9th rec'd. I telegraphed you on the 8th that Gen Hill had been sent by Gen Beauregard to the Army of Tenn. Gen Ripley was also ordered by Gen Beauregard to report for duty to Gen Hood.
1/20/63
[65] Charleston, Gen Ripley to Gen Cooper-my application for extension of leave was appd by the A&IGO. When that expires, I request not to serve under Gen Beauregard
1/21 Richmond-Orders granting 90 days leave for Gen Ripley are hereby revoked
1/21 Cooper to Beauregard, Montgomery-Gen Ripley having permission to apply for an extension of his leave of absence, his application was granted as a matter of course. Your telegram ___ ___ was not rec'd in time ...or the application would have been
denied__ ___is reached by telegram today. He has been ordered to report to you.
1/21 Cooper to Ripley, Charleston-The extension of your leave of absence is
denied. Report at once in person to Gen Beauregard
1/25 Montgomery, Brent Col & AAG to Gen Beauregard, Mobile: Lee's Corps, now passing through, is destitute of clothing. I shall order all to be had here to be issued to them. Cheatham is, I learn, in like condition. I will telegraph to Gen Lawton to make provision for them at Augusta. Gen Ripley's leave has been revoked & he is ordered here
2/4 AAG's office endorses to Sec of War-Ripley's leave was extended at this office. Beauregard intimated his objection to the extension since he had ordered Ripley to duty w/the A of T.
In consequence of this statement the extension of leave was revoked & he was ordered by orders of 1/21 to report in person w/o delay to Gen Beauregard.
2/9 Davis to Gen Lee-Gen Ripley visits you for the purpose of presenting to you his views in regard to matters in SC, & more particularly the city of Charleston. I would be happy if you would afford him the opportunity of giving him & audience on the subjects mentioned, being those concerning which your suggestions to Gen Beauregard are desired.
2/12 Columbia, Beauregard to Cooper-Am informed Ripley is again in Richmond, notwithstanding repeated orders to join his Bgde, now fronting enemy near Augusta. I request he be ordered to his post forthwith.
2/12 Columbia, Beauregard to Hardee-Gen Ripley's leave was canceled by War Dept. He ought to be with his command, now fronting enemy near Augusta.
2/14 XIII Pursuant to telegram from this officer under date of 1/21, Gen Ripley, will immediately proceed to Columbia & report to Gen Beauregard for assignment to duty with his proper command. -Sec of War
In late March, during the 3-day Battle of Bentonville, the disgruntled Ripley reached the army
Charleston's forgotten general: Roswell Sabine Ripley
Ripley actively sought a transfer out of the department; something the governor felt to be disastrous given Ripley's knowledge and constant devotion to the city's defenses.55 His application had already been referred to and endorsed by General Pemberton who had it forwarded to military headquarters in Richmond. Ironically, though he mistrusted Ripley, Pemberton respected his ability and would be reluctant to see the general leave Charleston. Writing to Walter Taylor of Lee's staff, Pemberton stated that "I do not think General Ripley can be spared at the moment. His knowledge of everything connected with Charleston and its defenses is of great value. I know of no one now within the department who can replace him."56
On May 24, 1862 in compliance with his request, General Ripley was relieved of his command in South Carolina and ordered to Richmond for duty with several South Carolina and Georgia regiments.59
59 Seabrook, "Address delivered at the Unveiling of the Ripley Monument
General Ripley and the men with him were desperately needed in Virginia
In early June, Brigadier General Roswell Ripley arrived and was assigned to command the Fifth Brigade of Daniel Harvey Hill's division. In his study on Hill's military career, Hal Bridges notes the appearance of the divisive "Yankee" Confederate general in Lee's army. Introducing Ripley to the reader, Bridges does not hesitate to mention Ripley's quarrelsome nature and how he openly denounced General Lee back in South Carolina. The Ohioan's new command consisted of the 1st and 3rd North Carolina along with the 44th and 48th Georgia, all of which had yet to see active action. Robert Rodes, Samuel Garland and George Anderson had already demonstrated at Seven Pines their ability in handling themselves effectively in close combat. It remained to be seen if Alfred Colquitt and Roswell Ripley would do the same.6
On February 20, 1865 after having served his adopted state for over four years, Roswell Ripley received orders to report to Charlotte, North Carolina and await further instructions.166 Before gaining a new command, however, the Civil War would end
https://www.historynet.com/rebel-pariah-general-roswell-ripley/.
REBEL PARIAH: GENERAL ROSWELL RIPLEY
BY
ROBERT K. KRICK
When Ripley assumed command of a brigade in the Old Dominion, the Army of Northern Virginia had not yet moved beyond early shakedown status. Ripley's stint in the evolving army did not last long.
Ripley's Brigade included the 4th and 44th Georgia Infantry and the 1st and 3rd North Carolina. The Georgians soon would join the renowned Doles-Cook Brigade, and the Carolinians wound up commanded by Raleigh Colston, then George H. "Maryland" Steuart.
The men called their general "Old Rip," but they quickly learned to loathe their commander. In June 1862, Captain Jordan of the 44th wrote to his wife about "General Ripley—who is a big fat whiskey drinking loving man."
Ripley's short career in Lee's army—barely three months—included two high-profile battlefield episodes. Both developed into dreadful failures. He fought at Mechanicsville, Va., in June. The whole division missed Second Manassas in August 1862. His second memorable day, again bad, came at the Battle of Antietam that September.
The Mechanicsville horror spread far wider than Ripley's aegis, but his obvious confusion contributed to the disaster. Richmond historian Clifford Dowdey turned a deft phrase in describing the general's behavior: "If Ripley had ever understood that his movement was [intended] to turn the enemy's flank, either he forgot it, or the effect of leading troops in combat constricted the play of his faculties."
Captain Reese of Georgia defended Ripley after Mechanicsville. Reese blamed D.H. Hill, and called Ripley "a man of discretion…although blustering and rough in his manner." The degree of discretion would become much mooted, then and later.
Dissatisfaction in the brigade generated widespread and public criticism. A colonel declared: "it was a common subject of conversation, among officers and men, that Ripley was not under infantry fire during the week." Some of his staff expressed similar disgust.
Near the East Woods at Antietam, in the pasture southeast of the soon-to-be-famous Miller Cornfield, Ripley's men fought hard, suffered much, and decided their brigadier let them down.
Colonel William Lord DeRosset of the 3rd North Carolina, a reliable witness, called Ripley an "unworthy commander," and went beyond the usual bounds of vituperation to wish that the general had been killed: "Pity he had not then received a death wound"; "to Ripley be all the blame and shame"; "Ripley had been wounded, unfortunately for his reputation, not fatally."
Ripley's immediate superior, D.H. Hill, wrote with unrestrained disgust: "Ripley was a born coward—a coward or a traitor…in bad odor." Hill's notoriously pungent style might cause modern students to hesitate about accepting his judgments, but in fact the contemporary chorus echoed far and wide.
A staffer from Charleston, whose parents liked Ripley, wrote home unequivocally just after Antietam: "Many blame Ripley entirely…and not only his generalship but his personal bravery is doubted. I am wrong in saying…is doubted, for there seems here to be but one opinion on this."
A captain described the general at Antietam unsympathetically: "Low of stature, broad of girth, excitable by nature…Galloped down and in an excited manner gave an order to the regiment in person," ignoring the regimental colonel.
Twelve days after the battle, from a refuge in Richmond's Spotswood Hotel, Ripley wrote, begging to get away from the army, where it was obvious to him that Lee would never accomplish anything. The misanthropic general apparently recognized that he had irretrievably fouled his nest in Virginia.
In 1864, Ripley went to trial on formal charges of drunkenness while on duty at Fort Sumter. Witnesses testified to the fact ("from my own personal knowledge"), citing multiple instances. Fragments of the trial record survive, and contemporary accounts give some details, but the official transcript apparently burned at war's end. Among traits witnesses ascribed to Ripley were "a looseness of morals" and "rollicking habits."
Bringing the