Confederate General R. S. Ewell: Robert E. Lee's Hesitant Commander (review)

Richard Stoddard Ewell rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the service of the Confederate States of America, replacing Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson as commander of the Second Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia when the latter fell at Chancellorsville. Yet, despite outstanding credentials as a West Pointer and his service on various fields as an Old Army veteran, Ewell disappointed Robert E. Lee's initial faith in him through his penchant for indecision, ultimately prompting the general to remove him from field command.

Paul D. Casdorph recognizes the deficiencies of his subject. Although he never questions Ewell's personal courage, the author's choice of subtitle indicates that he concurs with the assessment of Lee's colorful subordinate as irresolute. As Casdorph follows his subject through the early years he is clearly looking for indications of the hesitancy that will cost the Confederacy dearly on the first day at Gettysburg. Indeed, it is in that context that everything else seems to be measured. Ewell cannot escape the comparisons to that fateful July day as he engages the Apaches in the prewar West or confronts the Federals at First Manassas. Even when he is successful at Second Winchester in 1863 Ewell is under the shadow of the great fight to come.

Thus, Casdorph makes the argument that the failing in Richard Ewell's military personality emanates from a flaw in his character and not from the amputation of the general's leg after his wounding at Groveton, the influence his wartime bride Lizinka Brown exerted over him, or some other factor. According to the author, the general's lapses occurred whenever he faced a moment of decision. It was in that crucible that the warrior would be tried and found wanting as a commander.

In the final campaign of the war, Lee sidelined his general by transferring him to the defense of the Confederate capital. Ewell insisted that he could fulfill the functions of Corps command, but carried out that assignment under the difficulties of a deteriorating military situation. Even so, his leadership helped to prevent the Federals from storming into Richmond after the capture of Fort Harrison. Following his capture at Sailor's Creek during the retreat with Lee's army toward Appomattox, Ewell struggled through a period of imprisonment. For the remainder of his life he labored at maintaining the property that Lizinka Brown had brought to the marriage.

Casdorph's Ewell is actually a mass of contradictions and complexities. For this reason if for no other the author is not always as certain of his subject as he might like to be. Ewell is hesitant and aggressive, serious of his duties and obligations and distracted from them, an inconsistent commander and a loyal and reliable lieutenant. Even General Lee does not seem to be sure of what exactly to make of him.

Donald Pfanz's earlier biography (Richard S. Ewell [Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998]) has made writing about Richard Ewell problematic for subsequent authors. Yet, Paul Casdorph's examination of the eccentric general stands alongside that weightier tome. Even so, it is unlikely that any examination of the general will satisfy those who wish that Stonewall Jackson had been at Gettysburg instead of Ewell or settle the debate over the reasons for his military shortcomings.