Command Under Lt. Gen. R. S. Ewell
Following the mop up actions and temporary commands after the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Lee formally assigned the Second Corps to Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, who had recently recovered from a previous amputation of his leg after the Second Battle of Manassas. Ewell had commanded a division and worked under Jackson, and was native to this organization. Jackson had recommended Ewell for the command to Lee before he died. However, the Second Corps was reduced in size when Ewell took command, because General Lee favored creating a Third Corps under A. P. Hill. Ewell led the Second Corps through the Gettysburg Campaign, after smashing the Union VIII Corps and decimating Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy's command at the Second Battle of Winchester. Ewell continued to command the corps through the opening campaigning of 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania. However, Ewell's ability as a corps commander waned, and Lee felt it was necessary to reassign Ewell to the Department of Richmond on May 29, 1864.
Read more about this topic: Second Corps, Army Of Northern Virginia
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