GDG- Day 2 - What was Ewell Thinking?

[Smith, David [USA]]

Dick--

Thanks for your feedback. Actually, at least in his postwar interviews,
Lee was quite critical of Ewell's performance at Winchester as well.
Describes him as having an anxiety attack and failing to close the loop
on Milroy, if I recall.  This is in one of the memos of the interviews
Lee gives after the war in Lee the Soldier.  I can look it up if you are
interested.  Lee also describes something similar happening to Ewell
during the Wilderness.  Perhaps I make too much of these postwar
comments at times, which we get second hand, but they are a time Lee
seems to be speaking frankly and unvarnished.

As you are also well aware of, Ewell was quite critical of his orders to
Gettysburg, because it gave him a choice of routes without making it
clear he should exercise his own discretion.

Your point that Lee should have realized his new corps commanders were
going to need some support is correct.  To be fair to Lee, he does
describe having a meeting with Ewell at least and telling him that as a
corps commander he was going to be expected to exercise more independent
judgment.  But that was before these corps encountered the Union army on
one of their strongest defensive positions of the war.

I'd still love it if anyone has ideas why Ewell didn't press his July 2
attacks earlier.


David

Message: 13

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:41:16 -0700 (PDT)

From: Richard M Kadas rkadas at sbcglobal.net <mailto:rkadas at sbcglobal.net>


Subject: Re: GDG- Day 2- What was Ewell Thinking?

To: GDG <gettysburg at arthes.com>

Message-ID: <593001.16211.qm at web81208.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

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Lee is whining instead of facing up to his own inability to adjust to
the management requirements of a new cast of corp commanders. Ewell
bemoans on Day One his inability to get clear orders from Lee as he had
been accustomed to getting from Stonewall. All he got were vague
discretionary orders such as: Press the enemy but don't bring on as
general engagement; or, Take the hill if practical. Ewell is an older
officer, who had been marching continually for three weeks, and had not
yet fully recovered from a major wound. Lee may have been honestly
surprised as he expected a more tired Ewell in a very fluid situation to
act with the same initiative that he had displayed at Winchester 18
calendar days before..

Dick

Dick

 
David G. Smith, Ph.D.
(703) 807-2849
smith_david_g at bah.com