Richard S. Ewell
Confederate Army general (1817–1872)
Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was an American military officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee and fought effectively through much of the war. Still, his legacy was clouded by controversies over his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
Early life and career
Ewell was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. He was raised in Prince William County, Virginia, from the age of 3, at an estate near Manassas known as "Stony Lonesome." He was the third son of Dr. Thomas and Elizabeth Stoddert Ewell; the grandson of Benjamin Stoddert, the first United States Secretary of the Navy; the grandson of Revolutionary War Colonel Jesse Ewell; and the brother of Benjamin Stoddert Ewell. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1840, thirteenth in his class of 43 cadets. His friends called him "Old Bald Head" or "Baldy." He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1845. From 1843 to 1845, he served with Philip St. George Cooke and Stephen Watts Kearny on escort duty along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. In the Mexican–American War, serving under Winfield Scott, he was recognized and promoted to captain for his courage at the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q431200. VIAF identifies the subject as 47601501. The Library of Congress control number is n92047738. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1817, 1872, 1840 and 1845.
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This entry incorporates text from “Richard S. Ewell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.