Life span: 02/08/1817 to 01/25/1872TabsLife SummaryFull name: Richard Stoddert EwellPlace of Birth: Washington, DCBurial Place: Old City Cemetery, Nashville, TNBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: SouthOrigins: Slave StateNo. of Spouses: 1No. of Children: 0Family: Thomas Ewell (father), Elizabeth Stoddert (mother), Lizinka Campbell Brown (wife)Education: West Point (US Military Academy)Occupation: MilitaryFarmer or PlanterMilitary: US military (Pre-Civil War)Confederate Army Note Cards Richard Stoddert Ewell (American National Biography) ScholarshipWhen the Mexican War ended, Ewell was assigned to frontier duty in the West. Between 1850 and 1860 he served at posts in New Mexico and Arizona, including Rayado (1850-1851), Los Lunas (1851-1856), and Fort Buchanan (1857-1860). During that time, he gained a reputation as being one of the country's premier frontier officers. He stayed in the saddle for weeks at a time, pursuing Apaches who attacked Mexican settlements and providing some small measure of law and order in an otherwise lawless society. Americans, Mexicans, and Apaches alike respected him for his judgment and fairness. According to one source, he was the only officer that the Apache warrior Cochise feared. Ewell was on leave at his family home in Virginia, recovering from a near-fatal bout of malaria, when he learned that the state had seceded from the Union. Although opposed to secession, he promptly resigned from the U.S. Army and accepted a lieutenant colonel's commission in the Confederate army. On 1 June 1861 U.S. troops attacked his command at Fairfax Court House. Ewell was slightly wounded in the skirmish, making him perhaps the first southern field-grade officer to be wounded in the war. Perhaps in part because of his injury, he was promoted to brigadier general on 17 June. Donald C. Pfanz, "Ewell, Richard Stoddert," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00353.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 06/01/1861 06/01/1861 At Fairfax Court House, the first Confederate officer to die falls and the first Medal of Honor is won 06/01/1861 06/01/1861 In Virginia, Captain John Quincy Marr becomes the first Confederate officer to die in the Civil War. 07/21/1861 07/22/1861 The first pitched battle of the war between armies results in a Union disaster at Bull Run 05/25/1862 05/25/1862 Stonewall Jackson wins a major victory at Winchester and drives Union forces back into Maryland 06/13/1863 06/15/1863 In western Virginia, the second Battle of Winchester ends in heavy Union defeat 06/15/1863 06/18/1863 General Albert Jenkins' Confederate cavalry occupy the Pennsylvania border town of Chambersburg 06/20/1863 06/22/1863 The Second Corps of the Army of Virginia crosses the Potomac and marches on Pennsylvania 06/27/1863 06/29/1863 In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Confederate troops occupy a town familiar to some of their officers 06/27/1863 06/29/1863 In Carlisle, Rodes' infantry enjoy a brief but comfortable respite at the U.S. Army Cavalry School 06/28/1863 06/28/1863 Confederate patrols reach the Perry County line, the northern limit of the Pennsylvania invasion 06/30/1863 06/30/1863 In Pennsylvania, the Confederate Second Corps begins to pull back to concentrate on Gettysburg 07/01/1863 07/01/1863 At dawn, the last Confederate occupiers of Carlisle, Pennsylvania leave the town 07/01/1863 07/03/1863 Battle of Gettysburg 02/06/1864 02/07/1864 Confederate infantry beat back a Union reconnaissance-in-force across the Rapidan at Morton's Ford 05/05/1864 05/05/1864 The Battle of the Wilderness opens on ground fought over the year before at Chancellorsville 05/06/1864 05/06/1864 In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness continues for a second bloody day 05/07/1864 05/07/1864 In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness ends and Union maneuvering continues 09/29/1864 09/30/1864 In Virginia, Union attacks at Chaffin's Farm tighten the ring around Petersburg 04/02/1865 04/02/1865 The Confederate Government evacuates its capital of Richmond, hours before victorious Union troops march in 04/06/1865 04/06/1865 At Sailor's Creek, the Army of Northern Virginia loses almost a quarter of its remaining strength 04/06/1865 04/06/1865 In Virginia, CSA corps commander General Richard S. Ewell is taken prisoner, along with four of his generals Major TopicsGettysburg CampaignMexican War Documents Subject Docs Date Title 06/26/1863 New York Times, “Telegrams From Carlisle,” June 26, 1863 06/27/1863 to 06/30/1863 Recollection of the Confederate Occupation of Carlisle, June 27-30, 1863 07/01/1863 Letter from Theodore S. Garnett to George W. Wingate, May 31, 1892 on the Shelling of Carlisle, July 1, 1863 07/04/1863 Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “The Rebels at Carlisle,” July 4, 1863 07/06/1863 New York Times, “Details From Our Special Correspondent,” July 6, 1863 07/09/1863 Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Gen. Lee Again Victorious!,” July 9, 1863 07/10/1863 Carlisle (PA) Herald, "Gen. Ewel [EWELL] Sends His Card," July 10, 1863 07/30/1863 Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, “The Skedaddlers,” July 30, 1863 Images Richard Stoddert Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell, detail Confederate General Ewell's requisition of supplies during his occupation of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1863, original Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Pfanz, Donald. Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. View Record Martin, Samuel J.The Road to Glory: Confederate General Richard S. Ewell. Indianapolis: Guild Press of Indiana, 1991. View Record
Richard Stoddert Ewell (American National Biography) ScholarshipWhen the Mexican War ended, Ewell was assigned to frontier duty in the West. Between 1850 and 1860 he served at posts in New Mexico and Arizona, including Rayado (1850-1851), Los Lunas (1851-1856), and Fort Buchanan (1857-1860). During that time, he gained a reputation as being one of the country's premier frontier officers. He stayed in the saddle for weeks at a time, pursuing Apaches who attacked Mexican settlements and providing some small measure of law and order in an otherwise lawless society. Americans, Mexicans, and Apaches alike respected him for his judgment and fairness. According to one source, he was the only officer that the Apache warrior Cochise feared. Ewell was on leave at his family home in Virginia, recovering from a near-fatal bout of malaria, when he learned that the state had seceded from the Union. Although opposed to secession, he promptly resigned from the U.S. Army and accepted a lieutenant colonel's commission in the Confederate army. On 1 June 1861 U.S. troops attacked his command at Fairfax Court House. Ewell was slightly wounded in the skirmish, making him perhaps the first southern field-grade officer to be wounded in the war. Perhaps in part because of his injury, he was promoted to brigadier general on 17 June. Donald C. Pfanz, "Ewell, Richard Stoddert," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00353.html.
Confederate General Ewell's requisition of supplies during his occupation of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1863, original