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Chapter 10 Defender of Richmond, 1864–1865 Dissatisfied with Ewell’s performance in the Overland Campaign, Lee had his subordinate transferred to the Department of Richmond. As the department’s commander , it was Ewell’s responsibility to defend the Confederate capital against attack , administer its military prisons, and maintain order. The troops that came with the command were decidedly substandard: inexperienced heavy artillery companies; reserve units composed of males either too old or too young for regular military service ; and government clerks who, in an emergency, could be called away from their desks to man the city’s defenses. It was a hodgepodge assortment of pseudo-soldiers, few in number, ill equipped, and badly disciplined. None of that mattered much earlier in the war. Since McClellan’s retreat in the summer of 1862, the Union army had been a distant threat. Except for an occasional cavalry raid, there had been little to disturb the day-to-day routine of city life. That all changed in May 1864, when the Union Army of the James, led by Major General Benjamin Butler, landed at Bermuda Hundred, a broad neck of land south of the city. Confederate troops, racing up from North Carolina, beat Butler to Richmond and succeeded in confining him to the peninsula. But no sooner was Butler under control than the Army of the Potomac threatened Richmond from the north, slowly pressing Lee’s forces back on the Confederate capital. Unable to break Lee’s lines at Cold Harbor, Grant boldly led the Army of the Potomac across the James River and lay siege to Petersburg. For the next nine months he would systematically sever supply lines leading into the city, slowly strangling Petersburg and Richmond into submission. Throughout that period, Richmond was under constant threat of attack. In an effort to force Lee to extend the lines of his outnumbered army, Grant periodically sent Union troops north of the James River to menace the capital. It was Ewell’s responsibility, as department commander, to support Army of Northern Virginia units defending Richmond until reinforcements could arrive from Petersburg. The most serious threat took place in September 1864, when Butler made a determined lunge toward the capital with two Union corps. The move caught the Defender of Richmond, 1864–1865 288 Confederates off guard, but a determined defense by Ewell and a few thousand troops at Fort Harrison kept the Federals at bay until reinforcements reached the battlefield. It was the greatest accomplishment of his career. By then, however, the South was fighting a losing war. Short of men and supplies and pressed on every side, defeat became inevitable. For Ewell and his men, the end came in April 1865. On the first day of the month Grant captured Five Forks, a vital crossroads southwest of Petersburg. He followed up his success with a general assault on the city. The Confederate lines snapped, leaving Lee no choice but to evacuate Petersburg and head west. Ewell and the Richmond garrison joined the army in its retreat. Grant aggressively pursued the Army of Northern Virginia toward Appomattox Court House. At Sailor’s Creek, Union cavalry cut the Confederate column in two, isolating Ewell’s and Anderson’s corps from the rest of the army. Sensing victory, Northern infantry closed in for the kill. The Confederates made a gallant defense, but Union numbers prevailed. Just three days before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox , Ewell and his men became prisoners of war. 126. To Benjamin Ewell Richmond Va July 20. 1864 Col. B. S. Ewell Dear Ben; I was at Chaffin’s Farm[,]1 a military post some miles below here, last week & on my return to town heard of General J. E. Johnston’s application for me. Unfortunately Lizinka went to see Bragg about it while I was away & learned that the authorities declined to make the transfer. I regretted her going very much as I wanted the chance to give the authorities a plain statement of my case & if developments authorized it, to hand in my resignation.2 I would at once have telegraphed to ask Genl Johnston for a command, on being relieved[,] but understood that Stewart had been appointed by Genl Johnston’s request & of course it was too late.3 My position here is without troops & merely a polite way of being laid on the shelf. For what reason I cannot tell, & had I have thought he wanted my services would have gone in spite of every thing.4 Genl Johnston’s relief from command...

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