Richard Ewell, Part 9 | "The Jig Is Up"

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Welcome everyone. History Gone Wilder, part of Half History Will Travel. I'm your host, the Wilder Historian, Dr. Lucas Wilder. And last time, Richard Ewell was removed from corps command during the Overland Campaign and now takes command of Richmond's defenses. If you like what I do, please consider subscribing to the channel if you haven't done so already.

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[00:00:28]RICHARD EWELL TOOK COMMAND OF THE RICHMOND defenses after being removed from his corps, but he didn't remain there long before he nearly got taken to another theater of the war.

[00:00:38]He didn't know about the discussions happening in the War Department, but it was June 1864 and Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk had just been killed north of Atlanta, Georgia and his corps needed a new commander.

[00:00:49]The commander of that army, Joseph E.

[00:00:51]Johnston, requested Ewell to be sent to Georgia to take command, but in the end, it went to Alexander P. Stewart.

[00:00:58]Ewell didn't discover that he was in the running for such a command until Stewart was already chosen.

[00:01:03]When he found out, he remarked, "Had I have thought Johnston wanted my services, I would have gone in spite of everything. I would be a captain under him if he were a colonel of a regiment.

[00:01:14]He was my only hope of regaining command."

[00:01:17]Ewell took command of the Richmond defenses as Ulysses S. Grant, George Meade, and the Army of the Potomac were encircling Petersburg and attacking Richmond.

[00:01:25]The Federals threw a bridge across the James River at Deep Bottom and made a threat against Richmond. Ewell requested the Secretary of War, James Seddon, to call out the local defense troops, the troops under Ewell's command, but Seddon wouldn't release the troops until Ewell insisted he needed them.

[00:01:42]The local defense troops were mechanics and clerks inside of Richmond and that could be called up for defending the capital, but otherwise needed to remain at their jobs to make sure the Confederate government and the war machine kept running.

[00:01:54]Seddon wouldn't release them easily. On paper, Ewell had 6,000 troops, but in reality, he had none until they were called upon. By the time the secretary released the troops, the threat to Richmond was over.

[00:02:07]One of Ewell's biographers explained it like this, "For Ewell, it was a no-win situation.

[00:02:12]If he called for the local troops at the first sign of danger, he risked incurring the wrath of Seddon and other government officials. On the other hand, if he delayed summoning them until the city was in actual peril, as the secretary insisted, they would arrive too late to do any good.

[00:02:28]It was a problem that afforded no easy solution."

[00:02:32]Threats came and went through June, July, and August, but in late September, Ewell faced one of his biggest threats to Richmond to date. Benjamin Butler's Army of the James was making a thrust toward the capital and Ewell had but a handful of troops to defend the works north of the James River.

[00:02:48]He called on the local defense troops, but it'd be hours before they arrived.

[00:02:53]Union forces busted through Fort Harrison and Ewell feared they could enter the capital by sunset.

[00:02:59]To buy time, Ewell grabbed every man he could and did a show of force in a wooded area that stopped the Federal advance.

[00:03:06]It eventually forced the Union to break off the engagement, bowing to unknowingly an inferior force. One soldier remembered, "General Ewell was with the skirmish line, constantly encouraging them by his presence and coolness. I remember very distinctly how he looked, mounted on an old gray horse, as mad as he could be, shouting to the men and seeming to be everywhere at once."

[00:03:27]More attacks came against Ewell's lines, especially by David Birney's 10th Corps, which contained a large portion of black troops. Upon attacking Fort Gilmer, black troops became stuck in the ditch in front of the fortification.

[00:03:40]Many of the black troops surrendered when they couldn't extricate themselves, but upon exiting the ditch, were killed by Confederates.

[00:03:46]The actions of his soldiers got back to Ewell, who sent back orders stating, "Colonel, tell your men they must be patient and prudent. These blacks are now Federal soldiers and we must treat them as such." The order stopped the killing.

[00:03:59]Ewell had saved Richmond from capture, but his efforts had gone pretty much unnoticed. Many historians today have taken notice of Ewell's contributions.

[00:04:08]One wrote, "Such qualities had shown before in those halcyon days ere the Second Corps had ever heard of Cemetery Hill, at First and Second Winchester, at Stevenson's Depot, at Cedar Mountain, at Strasburg, and above all, Cross Keys.

[00:04:23]Yet great as were his accomplishments then, they do not equal his achievement this day. Acting in the face of imminent danger to forge and sustain a continuous line from Fort Gilmer to the James that bade fair to contain the Federal breakthrough and save Richmond was the greatest contribution Ewell ever rendered to the Confederate cause."

[00:04:42]Although he couldn't retake Fort Harrison with the few troops he possessed, he brought his troops closer to Richmond and threw up a new defensive line.

[00:04:50]He and Lee rode out to examine the area and Ewell's horse took a tumble, rolling over its rider.

[00:04:56]Lieutenant Colonel Moxley Sorrel saw the accident and thought Ewell broke his neck, but he was just badly bruised and bleeding. By that evening, Ewell was back at work, wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, as one soldier described it.

[00:05:09]As winter set in, Ewell took his headquarters to Richmond and enjoyed going about town with Lizinka and the family.

[00:05:16]One day, while poorly dressed, he ran into Colonel Duff Green, who had lost a leg and used a wooden replacement.

[00:05:23]As they talked, an older citizen walked up to both men, saw their disability, and offered them both jobs in his factory in Georgia.

[00:05:30]They told the man who they were and the factory owner replied, "Well, gentlemen, I beg your pardon, but you looked like common folks mightily."

[00:05:39]Ewell's appearance even fooled his men.

[00:05:41]While driving an ambulance, a member of a heavy artillery unit asked the general for a ride. Ewell agreed and while transporting the man, the artilleryman asked, "To what command do you belong?"

[00:05:52]The driver replied, "I belong all around here generally." "You present a very striking resemblance to General Ewell," the soldier remarked. Ewell asked, "How do you know it is not him?"

[00:06:02]"I would not expect to see him riding in an ambulance." "Does General Ewell never ride in an ambulance?" "Probably he does, but I would think it strange to see him alone and driving himself." The soldier finally discovered it was the general who was driving him and they continued to have a good discussion.

[00:06:19]In early 1865, with manpower draining from the Confederate Army around Richmond and Petersburg, the Confederacy finally allowed for slaves to be armed and join the Confederate Army.

[00:06:29]Robert E. Lee assigned Ewell the task of organizing these soldiers since Ewell had advocated for arming African-Americans as early as 1861.

[00:06:37]Two companies were formed, but they would see no action.

[00:06:41]Seeing the end was near, Ewell sent his wife and family north. Lizinka traveled to Washington, D.C., then eventually to St. Louis to stay with friends.

[00:06:50]On April 1st, the Confederate right flank that extended far to the west to guard the supply routes into Petersburg and Richmond was crushed at the Battle of Five Forks.

[00:06:59]An early morning attack on April 2nd saw Lee's line break in half and the Confederate army commander to call for the evacuation of Richmond.

[00:07:07]Ewell received his orders and prepared for his troops to leave the city. The sight of the president and other Confederate officials, along with the government documents, leaving the city told the story to the citizens of the capital.

[00:07:19]Panic spread through the streets as looters and vandals tried to steal what they could in the chaos. Ewell foresaw these actions and petitioned the city council to assemble a volunteer police force to maintain order in the event of an evacuation. The city didn't pursue that action and only one man volunteered to help. The city paid for the council's inaction.

[00:07:39]Ewell possessed around 7,000 troops with local defense troops and Kershaw's division of Longstreet's corps. He tried to maintain order with what troops he could spare, but it was no use. Ewell and the Secretary of War, John C.

[00:07:50]Breckinridge, sat outside the War Department as the warehouses containing cotton and tobacco were set ablaze.

[00:07:57]One soldier remembered the scene.

[00:07:59]"Breckinridge, as he sat on his fine horse, was simply magnificent. His noble face bright and cheerful, giving no sign of the anguish that wrung his heart. He spoke strongly and calmly, giving his orders and his advice to General Ewell and others around him.

[00:08:14]Ewell looked the wreck that he was. His thin, narrow face looked wizened and worn and twitched nervously, as did his arms and hands. I had seen him at his best. Here was his worst. The old hero looked worn and shaken at this heartbreaking crisis."

[00:08:29]Ewell thought it was a waste of time and effort to burn the tobacco warehouses.

[00:08:34]Breckinridge had ordered it. Ewell would remark, "I acted under orders, but regret that those orders did not include Breckinridge, who should have been thrown into the hottest of the flames."

[00:08:45]Ewell resisted any accusations that he burned the city. He held to the idea that Unionists inside Richmond set fire to the other buildings and denied his firing of the warehouses contributed to the destruction of the city.

[00:08:57]Years later, the warehouse owners tried to sue him for damages, but the judge threw it out, but not before it caused Ewell some stress.

[00:09:05]Ewell evacuated the city with the troops he possessed, aiming for Amelia Courthouse, where he was to meet up with the rest of the army. He had to leave behind Friday, the Pueblo boy who came with him from the Southwest and who had been beside Ewell throughout the war. He was sick and in the Jackson Hospital.

[00:09:21]When Richmond was captured, Friday followed a doctor to North Carolina and was never heard from again.

[00:09:27]From Amelia Courthouse, the Confederate columns proceeded west. Men straggled and deserted all along the route. A group of hungry soldiers killed an ox that wandered too close and began to consume it raw. It was a desperate time, made even more desperate when Ewell and Richard Anderson's troops got trapped at a location called Sailor's Creek.

[00:09:46]Ewell formed up his battle line in preparation to throw back an assault by Union forces who had finally caught up to the retreating rebels.

[00:09:54]As Ewell waited for the attack, a soldier overheard Ewell saying to another officer, "Tomatoes are very good. I wish I had some."

[00:10:02]The casual statement gave the eavesdropper a sense of calm amid the rain of artillery shells.

[00:10:08]Both Ewell and Anderson's battle lines broke, resulted in their encirclement.

[00:10:12]Ewell's men threw down their weapons, and Ewell's force ceased to exist.

[00:10:17]Ewell surrendered with his men.

[00:10:19]He was taken to General Horatio Wright's headquarters, the commander who directly opposed his forces at the Battle of Sailor's Creek.

[00:10:26]The two knew one another from West Point. As Ewell dismounted, Wright said, "I'm glad to see you, Ewell."

[00:10:31]Ewell responded, "I'll be blank blanked if I'm glad to see you, Wright." It was all bluster, and before long, the two men were enjoying each other's company.

[00:10:40]Soon, Philip Sheridan joined them, a man who caused great harm to the Confederacy through his campaign in the Shenandoah Valley and outside of Petersburg.

[00:10:49]All three men and other officers had dinner, then congregated outside of Sheridan's tent.

[00:10:54]They talked about their West Point days and the current campaign.

[00:10:58]But, Ewell stayed out of the conversation for the most part.

[00:11:01]One observer wrote, "Foughten Dick Ewell looked like an old eagle with one of his wings clipped."

[00:11:07]When he did enter the conversation, he said that the war was over when Grant crossed the James River, and the Confederacy should have sought peace negotiations. But, their insistence on independence made the cause lost, and they had no right to claim anything.

[00:11:20]For every man that was killed after this, somebody would be responsible, and it would be a little better than murder.

[00:11:26]He could not tell what General Lee would do, but he hoped that he would at once surrender his army.

[00:11:32]On April 7th, Ewell left his horse with Wright, then took an ambulance with 5,000 Confederate prisoners, as well as seven generals, to Burkeville Junction, Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters.

[00:11:43]When they arrived, Grant wasn't there, but Ewell scribbled a note letting him know that he had burned the warehouses in Richmond under orders to hopefully subvert any attempt to bring charges against him. And this would make his innocence a matter of record.

[00:11:58]Ewell was on his way to Ford's Station when word came that Lee had surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.

[00:12:05]Ewell and Custis Lee were together when the news arrived.

[00:12:08]Lee just hung his head, and Ewell threw up his hands and said, "The jig is up."

[00:12:13]Near Ford's Station, Ewell was welcomed to Orlando B. Willcox's headquarters.

[00:12:18]Willcox found Ewell despondent and blaming Jefferson Davis and the rest of the Confederacy's political leaders for the defeat.

[00:12:25]Willcox wrote to his wife, "I think U.S.

[00:12:28]Grant had something to do with the matter."

[00:12:31]From City Point, they were transported by water to Washington, D.C.

[00:12:35]Confederate General Eppa Hunton remarked that Ewell carried between 500 and 600 dollars in gold and used it to improve his own accommodations, but didn't help Hunton, who was suffering from diarrhea and a fistula.

[00:12:48]When the ship anchored at D.C., former Postmaster General Montgomery Blair was waiting for Ewell.

[00:12:54]Blair and his wife had been friends of Ewell's family and of Lazinka, and they wanted Blair to give Ewell some money to help him through his captivity.

[00:13:02]Because of the threats on his life, Ewell was taken by carriage to Pennsylvania Avenue, where Blair gave him the money, and his older sister, Rebecca Ewell, came to see her brother.

[00:13:12]From there, Ewell and other officers were whisked to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

[00:13:16]The next day, aboard the Jersey Ferry, Ewell received the news that Abraham Lincoln had been shot.

[00:13:22]Union General Benjamin Butler was aboard the train and told him.

[00:13:25]Ewell threw up his hands and cried, "My God, I am sorry for that. It is the worst thing that could happen to the South."

[00:13:32]Passengers called for the rebel generals to be thrown overboard, but Butler put an end to the blustering passengers.

[00:13:38]From New York City, they were taken by railroad to Boston.

[00:13:42]When it was announced that Lincoln was dead, Ewell reportedly wept.

[00:13:46]Bystanders along the railroads yelled, "Three groans for Ewell!" and pelted the car with rocks.

[00:13:51]The two-week journey ended with the Confederate generals reaching Fort Warren safely, but it had been a perilous journey.

[00:13:59]Neither Ewell or anyone else knew how long they would remain at the fort, especially with the death of the president. It could be months or even years.