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It has become legendary at the college and in the
Williamsburg community that, every single morning of that long seven-year period, Benjamin Stoddert Ewell would arise and ring the bell calling students to class, so it could never be said that William and Mary had abandoned its mission to educate the
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In 1869, Ewell finally re-opened the school with his own personal funds and became president of the
College of William and Mary again. He mortgaged his family farm, purchased nearby in 1858, and it was lost to a foreclosure and auction sale. Despite Ewell's efforts, the college was forced to close
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Benjamin Ewell remained in
Williamsburg as president emeritus of the college until his death on June 19, 1894. He was interred in the College of William and Mary Cemetery in Williamsburg. Both his personal papers and papers relating to his service as president of the
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passed a bill appropriating $ 10,000 to support the college as a state teacher-training institution. Once he had ensured that the college he had cherished and protected would survive, the 71-year-old Ewell relinquished the presidency and went into retirement.
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After the war, the college and its building lay in ruins, and the
Virginia economy was destitute. Ewell had opposed Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861. He went to Washington, D.C., and unsuccessfully sought reparations from the
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set fire to the college building, purportedly in an attempt to prevent
Confederate snipers from using it for cover. Much damage was done to the community during the Union occupation, which lasted until September 1865.
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there which became known as Ewell Hall. He was later named permanent president, and served in that capacity between 1854 and 1888, even between 1861 and 1865 when the college was in abeyance.
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Ewell Hall, the historic plantation house he built at the former Ewell Farm eventually became the restored centerpiece of a cemetery, Williamsburg
Memorial Park, between Williamsburg and
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and the Army of the
Peninsula, Ewell had the primary responsibility for developing and constructing the Williamsburg Line, a line of defensive fortifications across the
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became legendary in
Williamsburg and at the college and were ultimately successful, with funding from both the U.S. Congress and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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before, during and after the
American Civil War. Benjamin Ewell's tireless efforts to restore the historic school and its programs during and after
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was used for a time as quarters for the commanding officer of the Union garrison occupying the town. On
September 9, 1862, drunken soldiers of the
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408:, he became professor of mathematics, serving from 1839 to 1842 and of mathematics and natural philosophy from 1842 to 1846. He then moved to
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at the junction of the two main loads leading from the lower Peninsula to the east, the Williamsburg-Yorktown Road, and the Lee's Mill Road.
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depleted the student body, and on May 10, 1861, the faculty voted to close the college for the duration of the conflict. The
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section of Washington, D.C. He was the son of Dr. Thomas Ewell and his wife Elizabeth Stoddert Ewell, and was a grandson of
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at its center was a factor in delaying Federal troops attempting to chase retreating Confederates during the
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was used as a Confederate barracks and later as a hospital, first by Confederate, and later Union forces.
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In 1987, the Student Association of the College of William and Mary established an award in his honor.
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After the Battle of Williamsburg, Ewell left the 32nd Virginia Infantry to join the staff of General
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was accepted into Confederate service on July 1, 1861, after it had been formed for local defense at
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872:. Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary
850:. Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary
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In 1848, he accepted a position as professor of mathematics and acting president of the
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west of the old colonial capital city along the Richmond-Williamsburg Stage Road (now
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In 1888, William & Mary resumed operations under a substitute charter when the
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on the north. A series of 14 redoubts were built along the line, with the earthen
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811:"Educator Turned Soldier Saved Virginia's Oldest College from Wartime Ruin"
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In 1861, he became captain of the college militia. Enlistments in the
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In 1836, he left West Point and became an assistant engineer of the
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Although he had been opposed to secession for Virginia, during the
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Following the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, during the
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again for financial reasons in 1881 did not reopen until 1888.
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277:(June 10, 1810 – June 19, 1894) was a United States and
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James City County Virginia official website - history section
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Benjamin Ewell is best remembered for his long tenure as the
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in the Confederate Army. In 1861 and 1862, under General
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Post-war: Restoration of the College of William and Mary
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The Battle Of Big Bethel (Confederate Military History)
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657:(C&O) which was built through the area in 1881 by
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in 1862. His younger brother was Confederate General
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of the College of William and Mary is named for him.
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870:"Office of the President. Benjamin Stoddert Ewell"
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292:Although he personally did not favor secession of
146:College of William and Mary Cemetery, Williamsburg
300:(1861–1865), he helped form local militia in the
1195:Presidents of the College of William & Mary
988:Presidents of the College of William & Mary
914:James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth
470:by Ewell from several local militia units from
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1245:Burials at the College of William & Mary
1240:People of Virginia in the American Civil War
836:Earl Gregg Swem Library Special Collections
631:campus of the College of William & Mary
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1235:People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)
947:Works by or about Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
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359:Benjamin Stoddert Ewell was born in the
1230:People from James City County, Virginia
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1215:United States Military Academy faculty
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1210:College of William & Mary faculty
296:from the Union, at the outset of the
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649:and Ewell Station located along the
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462:, he joined the regular forces. The
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569:Ewell's grave on the college campus
549:, who was a senior commander under
527:Brafferton building of the college
391:Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad
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774:Williamsburg Parks and Recreation
598:(son of US President and alumnus
494:east of Williamsburg anchored by
1220:Confederate States Army officers
848:"Benjamin Stoddert Ewell Papers"
545:to his younger brother, General
427:. He purchased a farm in nearby
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404:Moving to Virginia in 1839, at
376:United States Military Academy
355:Youth, education, early career
168:United States Military Academy
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792:1850 - 1899 |Historical Facts
414:Washington and Lee University
199:Confederate States of America
56:College of William & Mary
912:McCartney, Martha W. (1977)
1175:# denotes interim president
717:– via Newspapers.com.
655:Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
608:College of William and Mary
421:College of William and Mary
341:College of William and Mary
324:, a senior commander under
287:James City County, Virginia
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891:Williamsburg Memorial Park
779:December 21, 2007, at the
709:. June 21, 1894. p. 5
369:U.S. Secretary of the Navy
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896:December 8, 2004, at the
761:October 27, 2007, at the
703:"Benjamin Stoddert Ewell"
591:Virginia General Assembly
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61:
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1132:Thomas Ashley Graves Jr.
930:. Columbia Encyclopedia.
639:unincorporated community
531:5th Pennsylvania Cavalry
401:, from 1836 until 1839.
195:United States of America
1090:Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
928:Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
586:young men of Virginia.
449:Confederate States Army
275:Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
213:Confederate States Army
33:Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
1060:William Holland Wilmer
756:32nd Virginia Infantry
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464:32nd Virginia Infantry
425:Williamsburg, Virginia
406:Hampden–Sydney College
374:He graduated from the
253:32nd Virginia Infantry
136:Williamsburg, Virginia
1162:W. Taylor Reveley III
797:July 4, 2008, at the
668:in James City County.
661:, were named for him.
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506:, a tributary of the
472:Elizabeth City County
416:) from 1846 to 1848.
399:Sunbury, Pennsylvania
219:Years of service
1054:John Augustine Smith
659:Collis P. Huntington
610:can be found at the
435:) and built a large
380:West Point, New York
285:, and educator from
237:2nd Lieutenant (USA)
1150:Timothy J. Sullivan
1120:Alvin Duke Chandler
1096:Lyon Gardiner Tyler
1078:Robert Saunders Jr.
1072:Thomas Roderick Dew
651:Peninsula Extension
596:Lyon Gardiner Tyler
498:a tributary of the
410:Lexington, Virginia
395:Baltimore, Maryland
337:sixteenth president
224:1861–65 (CSA)
222:1832–36 (USA)
91:Lyon Gardiner Tyler
1108:John Stewart Bryan
707:The New York Times
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539:Joseph E. Johnston
519:Peninsula Campaign
492:Virginia Peninsula
460:American Civil War
443:American Civil War
314:Peninsula Campaign
298:American Civil War
263:American Civil War
209:United States Army
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1102:J. A. C. Chandler
647:James City County
551:Stonewall Jackson
502:on the south and
429:James City County
365:Benjamin Stoddert
326:Stonewall Jackson
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18:Benjamin S. Ewell
16:(Redirected from
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874:. Retrieved
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259:Battles/wars
131:(1894-06-19)
86:Succeeded by
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1205:1894 deaths
1200:1810 births
1164:(2008–2018)
1158:(2005–2008)
1156:Gene Nichol
1152:(1992–2005)
1146:(1985–1992)
1134:(1971–1985)
1128:(1960–1971)
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1116:(1942–1951)
1110:(1934–1942)
1104:(1919–1934)
1098:(1888–1919)
1092:(1854–1888)
1086:(1849–1854)
1080:(1846–1848)
1074:(1836–1846)
1068:(1827–1836)
1062:(1826–1827)
1056:(1814–1826)
1050:(1812–1814)
1044:(1776–1812)
1038:(1771–1776)
1032:(1764–1771)
1026:(1761–1764)
1020:(1755–1760)
1014:(1752–1755)
1008:(1743–1752)
1002:(1693–1743)
1000:James Blair
876:January 22,
854:January 22,
821:October 28,
500:James River
480:York County
279:Confederate
74:Preceded by
1189:Categories
1084:John Johns
1066:Adam Empie
686:References
676:Old Campus
672:Ewell Hall
627:Ewell Hall
600:John Tyler
523:Union Army
508:York River
361:Georgetown
304:region of
191:Allegiance
163:Alma mater
112:1810-06-10
79:John Johns
1036:John Camm
713:March 17,
666:Lightfoot
384:U.S. Army
302:Peninsula
174:Signature
157:(brother)
151:Relations
68:1854–1888
64:In office
52:16th
1140:# (1985)
894:Archived
795:Archived
777:Archived
759:Archived
543:adjutant
367:, first
318:Richmond
294:Virginia
249:Commands
949:at the
907:Sources
674:on the
653:of the
629:on the
484:colonel
468:Hampton
339:of the
920:
618:Legacy
525:. The
731:ewell
643:Ewell
397:with
918:ISBN
878:2011
856:2011
823:2007
715:2022
637:The
553:and
328:and
229:Rank
138:, US
126:Died
121:, US
106:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
