Richard Stoddard Ewell (1817-1872) was born in Georgetown D.C., even though his grandfather was Benjamin Stoddard the nations first Secretary of the Navy, he grew up poor on the family farm near Manassas, Virginia called "Stony Lonesome". He received his appointment to West Point class of 1840 and was classmates with William T. Sherman. After graduation he served with the 1st Regiment of the Dragoons on the frontier. During the Mexican-American War his company formed General Winfield Scott's escort, and he won a brevet. After that war he campaigned hard and long against the Apaches in the Southwest. Ewell did not support succession and had much to lose by it. He resigned his commission on May 7, 1861 and entered Virginia's service as a Lt. Colonel.

He quickly rose through the ranks and in 1862 commanded a division under Stonewall Jackson. Ewell was one of the few subordinate generals that Jackson got a long with. Perhaps it was because they both had odd medical aliments, real or imagined, and they both believed in the cure of the mineral bath.

Ewell was wounded in the knee at the Battle of Second Manassas and lost his leg. While recuperating he had his second chance to woo and this time marry Lizinka Cambell after the death of her wealthy first husband. Sometimes in his confusion, even after they were married, he referred to her as Mrs. Brown.

After Jackson's death at Chancellorsville Ewell was promoted to command of Jackson's 2nd Corps, which he led to Gettysburg. Mrs. Ewell went on campaign with the 2nd Corps, she must have been a strong willed woman because, it has been said that petticoats commanded the Corps.

I have read and I made reference to it on the page that brought the reader here, that Ewell is blamed by history for, in part at least, for the failure of the southern army at Gettysburg. Even Ewell himself is quoted as saying, while a prisoner of war, "There were a dozen reasons why the south lost at Gettysburg and I committed most of them." Perhaps not.

Ewell is blamed for not pursuing the retreating Union Army to Cemetery Hill on the first day of the battle, July 1st, 1863. On that hill, that is 100 feet higher than the town, the Federal forces had 40 cannon with plenty of fresh infantry support behind a stonewall. Meanwhile two more Union Corps were coming up the roads that led to that hill, even if Ewell's men could have taken it, surely they wouldn't have been able to hold it for long. Ewell at this point only had 6000-7000 men to commit to such an attack.

Major General Issac R. Trimble was one of many that blamed Ewell for not taking Culp's Hill to the southeast of Cemetery Hill. Trimble's writing on this was done when he was in his 80s. Even though, so many years after the battle, these writings are given much credit. We must remember that Trimble is the one that said that he could take Philadelphia with only a brigade, he said the same about Harrisburg. It seems likely that by the late hour of the day when Confederate forces were in the town of Gettysburg proper that northern forces would have been on Culp's Hill with so many reinforcements coming up the Baltimore Pike.

Ewell's 2nd Corps had fought brilliantly during the campaign up to that point. That day they out flanked the Union 11th Corps causing the entire Union Army on the field to fall back to Cemetery Hill.

You read about the fog of war and how it effects the action of those on the field of battle. Makes me wonder if there isn't also a fog of history that does something of the same to historians.