.OTI.MTA5

Ewell Papers

39.1

EW3

Folder 21

20 December 1865

Accounts of the burning of Richmond by R.S. Ewell and J.B. Kershaw [?]

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(Copy.) Spring Hill, Tennessee, Dec. 20/65

Gen. R. E. Lee, Lexington, Va.

General - About the midst of February last, I received a communication from you, enclosing a law, which I was directed to carry out. This law required preparations to be made for destroying the cotton, tobacco, &c, which the owners could not remove, in places exposed to capture by the enemy. I immediately sent Mag. Brown of my staff to Mayor Mayo, with the document and requested him to call a meeting of the Common Council to give their opinion as to the measures proper to be taken. After a free discussion with some of the Council & by their advice, I issued a Circular to the "Merchants & owners of cotton & tobacco", embodying the substance of your order and the law that accompanied it. This I entrusted to those gentlemen and to Maj. Isaac N. Carrington, Provost Marshal, for distribution. Being informed, a few hours later, that it was misunderstood as to take effect at once. I substituted another, stating expressly that "the necessity had not yet arisen." Together with Mr. Scott, a tobacco-owner & Councilman, I visited & inspected all the warehouses containing tobacco & after consulting the Keepers, we concluded they could be burned without danger of a general conflagration. I gave instructions to Maj. Carrington to make the necessary arrangements and requested Mr. Scott & the other Members of the Council to consult with him & give him their views. The Ordnance Dept. offered to furnish barrels of [?] to mix with the tobacco, so as to ensure its [?] but this I

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declined, for fear of setting fire to the City. I sent for the Mayor & several of the most prominent citizens, earnestly urged upon them the danger of mob-violence, should we be forced to evacuate & the entrance of Federal troops be delayed, & begged them to endeavor to organize a volunteer guard force, for such an emergency, proffering the necessary arms. I regret to say but one man volunteered & the rioters, as predicted, were unchecked.

On the night of Saturday, 1st April, I received a dispatch from Gen. Longstreet, telling me he was going to the South Side with two Divisions - that Kershaw would be left on the lines - directing me to move whatever troops I could collect down the Darbytown road & to ride by his Headquarters for further instructions. I left my Staff to see to the movements & collection of troops (of which only the Cadets & three (3) battalions of Convalescents were in town) & rode down, but Gen. Longstreet had gone before I reached his Hd. Qrs. & I received orders from his A.A.G., Col. Latrobe, to relieve & send forward two brigades left on picket, which was done soon after sunrise by Col. Shipp, commanding the Cadets & Convalescents. At 10 A.M. of Sunday, I received a message from Maj. Chestney, my A.A.Gen'l, to return at once to the City & on doing so received the order for the evacuation and to destroy the stores which could not be removed. All that time allowed was done.

Gen. G.W.C. Lee's division, being mostly composed of Heavy Artillery was almost without transportation which was procured by impressing all that could be

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found.

All the guard forces were required to take the prisoners from the Libby & Castle Thunder, & as the militia had dispersed (being mostly foreigners), no troops remained in town except a few Convalescents. A mob of both sexes & all colors soon collected and about 3 A.M. set fire to some buildings on Cacey Street and began to plunder the City. The Convalescents then stationed in the Square were ordered to repress the riot, but their commander shortly reported himself unable to do so, his force being inadequate. I then ordered all my Staff & Couriers who could be spared to scour the streets, so as to intimidate the mob by a show of force, & sent word to Gen. Kershaw who was coming up from the lines to hurry his leading Regiment into town. By daylight the riot was subdued, but many buildings which I had carefully directed should be spared had been fired by the mob. The Arsenal was thus destroyed & a party of men went to burn the [?] Works, but were prevented by Gen. Anderson's [?] his operatives & declaring his intention to resist. The small bridge over the Canal on 14th Street was burned by incendiaries, who set a Canal boat on fire & pushed it under the bridge. This was evidently done in hopes of embarrassing our retreat, & Kershaw's division passed the bridge, while on fire, at a double-quick. By 7 A.M., the last troops had reached the South Side & Mayo's & the Railroad bridges were set on fire.

From the hills above Manchester, we watched for some time the progress of the flames, & all at once saw fire break out through the roof of one of the large

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mills on the side farthest from the burning warehouses, the flames from which scarcely reached half-way up the sides of the Mill. It was considered a fire-proof building & extra precautions had been taken by the owners. I cannot conceive how it could have caught in such a place, unless set on fire. I have been told that Mr. Crenshaw found his Mill full of plunderers, whom he got out by agreeing to give them all the provisions in the Mill, & that they were in the act of building a fire on the upper story of the Mill, when discovered. I tried to find out if this were true, but no reply has come to the letters written for that purpose. If correct, it affords exact proof of what I am firmly convinced is the case - that the burning of Richmond was the work of incendiaries & might have been prevented by the citizens.

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(Signed) R. S. Ewell

Late Lieut. Gen., C.S.A.

Extract.

Camden So. Ca. Oct. 9/65.

Major - On the morning of Monday, the 3d of April last, I moved in obedience to the orders of Lt. Gen. Ewell, from my position on the lines near Fort Gilmer, through Richmond to Mayor's Bridge, reporting in person to Lt. Gen. Ewell. Under his orders I detached two Battalions to suppress the mob, then engaged in sacking the City. Arriving at the Bridge, I found it in flames and rapidly passed my command over to Manchester, informing Gen. Ewell of the facts. By the efforts of some boatmen, the flames

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were arrested, before they had rendered the bridge impassable. By the time the infantry had passed, the large mill above the Danville Depot & too far from it to have been ignited by the burning of the latter was observed to be on fire, the smoke being first seen to issue through the roof on all parts of it & then the windows on all sides, indicating that it has been set on fire in the interior. As much of the conflagration which ensued was caused by the burning of this building, the circumstances has been deemed of sufficient importance to be stated here, in order to remove the erroneous imputation that the conflagration resulted from the action of the authorities.

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J. B. Kershaw

Late Maj. Gen. C.S.A.

To Maj. Campbell Brown

Late A.A.Gen. to Gen. Ewell

I certify that I have copied above all those portions of the Reports of Gens. Ewell & Kershaw referring to the burning of the City of Richmond in 1865 - The parts omitted from each Report relate solely to movements subsequent to the evacuation.

Campbell Brown

Spring Hill, Tenn.

Nov. 6 1873.