Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell has been blamed by his fellow generals and by contemporary historians for losing the Battle of Gettysburg. His performance on July 1, 1863, not nearly as impressive or daring as any campaign Stonewall Jackson took part in, has come under fire for being cautious and conservative. Over the next few months, I will examine Ewell's performance in an attempt to answer the question as to Ewell's responsibility for losing this significant battle.
"Old Baldy" Ewell took command of the II Corps in June of 1863. He took the place of the beloved Stonewall Jackson, who was accidently shot by his own men at Chancellorsville in May and died a few weeks later. Ewell was by no means a mediocre general and Robert E. Lee knew he could do the job as a corps commander. Little did Ewell know he was soon to take more responsibility than he realized when he accepted his new position.
On the morning of July 1, General Henry Heth's division (consisting of two brigades at the time) moved toward Gettysburg in search of supplies. Union Cavalry commander, John Buford, and his two brigades of about 2,500 men stood in Heth's way. What started as a minor skirmish turned into almost a full engagement. By noon, Heth's two brigades and two Union corps, along with Buford's men, were on the field.
After about an hour lull, the fighting resumed, this time with the men of Rodes' division (Ewell's corps) attacking the Union right flank from the North. Despite the fact that the Union lines held for quite a while, as more Confederates came up, the Federals began to break for town. More men from Heth's division moved forward, and Jubal Early's division (also from Ewell's Corps), converged from the north to team up with Rodes. By about 4:40 p.m., the Union troops were in full retreat through Gettysburg and reformed on Cemetery Hill just to the South of town. The tide had turned to the South's favor, and all seemed to be lost for the Federals. All that needed to be done was a strike on the Union forces on Cemetery Hill, and the victory belonged to the Southern forces.
To be continued soon...
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