Bio CSA R.S. Ewell

[jkBluesman]

Lt. Gen. Richard Stoddert Ewell (b. 1817, d. 1872). Gen. D.H. Hill called Ewell “the right arm of Stonewall Jackson”, but after his corps commander’s death Ewell could not match the high expectations in the Confederacy and his record as corps commander fell short to his record as division commander. The Virginian had graduated from West Point in 1840 as 13th in a class of 42, together with future Union Gen. William T. Sherman and George Thomas. He served as dragoon at the frontier, in the American-Mexican War and gained a reputation as Indian fighter in New Mexico and Arizona. Tight strongly to the Army, he did not resign his commission as captain until his native state had seceded. He became a cavalry instructor of Virginian forces for a few weeks but was then sent to Fairfax Court House where he was wounded in a skirmish with Union cavalry in May 1861, being the first Confederate field officer to be wounded in the war. In June he was promoted to Brig. Gen. and commanded a brigade on the right wing at First Manassas. As Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard forgot to send orders to advance, Ewell’s men did not participate in the fighting. Ewell was promoted to Maj. Gen. in January 1862 nonetheless as he had made a great impression on Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. When Johnston moved south to confront the Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula, Ewell’s division stayed in position to support Confederate forces at Fredericksburg or in the Shenandoah Valley, where Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had started his campaign. At first the relationship between Ewell and Jackson was strained by the latter’s secrecy and referring to providence. But soon they respected each other, leading to Ewell’s remark “that Jackson could do the praying and he could do the swearing, and that the two together could whip the devil.” In fact they whipped the Union forces at Front Royal, Winchester, Harrisonburg, Cross Keys and Port Republic. During the battle of the Seven Days, Ewell fought well and his division was in the lead during Jackson’s move in Gen. John Pope’s rear. Ewell and his men held their ground at Cedar Mountain and Bristoe Station. Shortly before the Battle of Second Manassas, Ewell was wounded in a fight at Groveton on August 28, 1862. He was taken to Richmond, but his left leg was amputated. He did not recover until summer of 1863 when Gen. Robert E. Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia for the invasion of Pennsylvania. Ewell became commander of Jackson’s old corps as Lt. Gen. (dating from May 23, 1863). He got a good start, won the battle of Second Winchester and gathered supplies during the giant raid in Pennsylvania. But when his corps was recalled to Gettysburg, he performed badly in the battle. He did not control his subordinates closely, so Ewell’s troops took neither Culp’s Hill nor Cemetery Hill. And when Gen. Jubal Early persuaded Ewell not to shift the corps from the left to the right, it was almost useless for the rest of the battle. Ewell performed better in the Wilderness (May 1864) and at Spotsylvania Court House. But although his men fought back several attacks thousands were captured in a salient: the muleshoe. Lee afterwards tried to get Ewell transferred from the army, using his bad health as excuse. At first Ewell resisted but then accepted command of the defences of Richmond. Part of this assignment was the responsibility Libby Prison, where Union soldiers were treated badly. But Ewell also saved the town with mostly third-rate troops against the Army of the James in September 1864. After the evacuation of the Confederate capital Ewell’s troops joined the Army of Northern Virginia but were surrounded and captured. Ewell became the highest ranking army officers to be held as prisoner of war. He was released after three months and managed his wife’s vast property in Tennessee until they both died from influenza in 1872.

He got very bad votes, too low compared to A.P. Hill and Jubal Early. 4-4-3-4-4 does not reflect his achievements. I would give him 4-6-3-5-4(3).
What did he get as teaches?

[Gil R.]

I gave him Fast, Oblique Fire, and Shooters. Quite nice offense-oriented abilities. Make sense?

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Gil R.
I gave him Fast, Oblique Fire, and Shooters. Quite nice offense-oriented abilities. Make sense?

I'm not sure I'd go quite that offensive with Ewell. He wasn't what I'd consider one of the best offensive generals, but did seem to do reasonably well on defense.

I would counter-suggest Sustained Volley, Hardy, Shooters

Regards,

- Erik

[Gil R.]

Those abilities make sense, too. What do others think?

[jkBluesman]

As you both agree on shooters, it is shooters. Fast is good, as his division was often in the lead and set the pace for Jackson's foot cavalry, travelling almost as light as the "light division".
Why not make Sustained Volley number three? That way the abilities reflect Ewell's record. In the early years with the Confederates on the offensive, he managed to be good at attacking. When after Gettysburg defensive qualities were needed, he showed them too.

[Gil R.]

Okay, I'll go with those three.

As for defensive abilities, for some time now I've been wishing that we had given generals defensive ratings. If we do the FOF expansion pack we're considering we'll be buffing up how generals work, and that will certainly be part of it, and we should be able to retrofit that improved system to FOF. Not something to do for an upcoming patch, though, since it would involve massive changes.

[Gil R.]

Here's Ewell's bio, which squeaks by just under the limit. I did have to shorten it a bit.
To save space, I removed “Ewell and his men held their ground at Cedar Mountain and Bristoe Station” because these battles occurred a year apart and didn’t really fit the chronology of the narrative, and because neither engagement strikes me as crucial to the bio. I also removed the reference to Libby Prison, and his class rank.

Lt. Gen. Richard Stoddert Ewell (b. 1817, d. 1872). Gen. D.H. Hill called Ewell “the right arm of Stonewall Jackson,” but after his corps commander’s death Ewell could not match the high expectations for him, and his record as corps commander fell short of his record as division commander. A Virginian, Ewell had graduated from West Point in 1840, together with future Union generals William T. Sherman and George H. Thomas. He served with the 1st U.S. Dragoons in the Mexican-American War and on the frontier, gaining repute as an Indian fighter. Devoted to the U.S. Army, Ewell did not resign his commission as captain until Virginia had seceded, whereupon he became a cavalry instructor of Virginian forces. He was soon sent to Fairfax Court House, where he was wounded in a skirmish with Union cavalry in May 1861 – the first Confederate field officer to be wounded in the war. In June, he was promoted to brigadier general and commanded a brigade on the right wing at First Bull Run, but since Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard forgot to send orders to advance, Ewell’s men did not participate in the fighting. Ewell was promoted to major general in January 1862, having made a great impression on Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. When Johnston moved south to confront the Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula, Ewell’s division stayed behind to support Confederate forces at Fredericksburg or in the Shenandoah Valley, where Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson had started his campaign. At first the relationship between Ewell and Jackson was strained by the latter’s secrecy and frequent references to Providence, but soon they respected each other and formed a formidable team, leading Ewell to remark that “Jackson could do the praying and he could do the swearing, and that the two together could whip the devil.” And so they did, whipping the Union forces at Front Royal, Winchester, Harrisonburg, Cross Keys and Port Republic in May-June 1862. During the Seven Days’ Battles, Ewell fought well and his division was in the lead during Jackson’s move in Gen. John Pope’s rear. On August 28, shortly before the Battle of Second Bull Run, Ewell was wounded in the fighting at Groveton. He was taken to Richmond, where his left leg was amputated. Ewell did not recover until the summer of 1863, by which time Jackson was dead. When Gen. Robert E. Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia for the invasion of Pennsylvania, Ewell became commander of Jackson’s old corps and was promoted to lieutenant general, effective May 23. Off to a good start in his new command, Ewell won the Battle of Second Winchester and gathered supplies during the raid into Pennsylvania. But when his corps was recalled to Gettysburg, he performed badly in the battle: since he failed to control his subordinates closely, Ewell’s troops took neither Culp’s Hill nor Cemetery Hill; and, when Gen. Jubal A. Early persuaded Ewell not to shift his corps from the left to the right, it became almost useless for the rest of the battle. Ewell performed better in the Wilderness Campaign of May 1864 and at Spotsylvania Court House in particular, although despite fighting back several attacks thousands of his men were captured at the “Mule Shoe.” Lee afterwards tried to get Ewell transferred from the army, using his lingering bad health from a fall off his horse in the Wilderness as an excuse. At first Ewell resisted, but finally accepted command of Richmond’s defenses, saving the city from the Army of the James with mostly third-rate troops in September 1864. After the abandonment of the Confederate capital, Ewell tried to join up with Lee but was surrounded and captured at Sayler’s Creek on April 6, 1865, becoming the highest ranking army officer to be held prisoner of war. Released after three months, Ewell managed his wife’s vast property in Tennessee until they both died from influenza in 1872. (Bio by Joern Kaesebier)

[jkBluesman]

I was referring to a minor engagement at Bristoe Station in the wake of Second Manassas, but you are right, it was not very important. Which ratings and teaches did you give him, as Erik, you and me aggreed on different three than you wrote in a quote yesterday?

Otherwise no objections but thanks for editing.

[Gil R.]

Thanks, I forgot that this conversation had continued, and was basing my decision on some of the earlier posts.

What I've just done is to add Sustained Volley as a fourth ability, adding to Hardy, Oblique Fire and Shooters. I see the reasons for giving him Fast, but I tend to give Fast to cavalry commanders and don't give Hardy out enough. And Hardy is in some respects better than fast.

It strikes me as okay to give Ewell four abilities, especially since his "Fair" Leadership rating means he won't teach abilities as often as most of the other generals with 4-5 abilities.