Confederate General Richard Ewell Receives A "Presentation" Leg

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In the late summer, 1862 Confederate General Richard S. Ewell lost his right leg at the battle of Groveton, Virginia. A blockade of the Southern coast by the Northern fleet and the consequential lack of adequate medical supplies created an unforeseen problem for Confederate soldiers who lost limbs in defense of their country. In this respect, Ewell was not immune and in 1863, University of Virginia graduate, Major Moses Green Peyton (1826-1897) came to Ewell's aide in order to help secure for him a recycled "presentation" limb. As acting assistant adjutant general on General Robert Rodes' staff, Peyton wrote, to Dr. T. A. Lefar, surgeon in charge of the South Carolina hospital at Charlottesville, Virginia, "Hd. Qrs. Rodes' Div., Orange C. H., Va., Aug. 11, 1863," which, reads, in part: in part: "Sometime ago Rev. Mr. Basnoise [?] of your state presented to Genl. Ewell an artificial leg that had formerly been used by Mr. Cerwin. It was thought at the time that the leg wd. not suit the Genl. & it was therefore returned. Genl. Ewell & his surgeon both think now that it will answer a better purpose then any ever that he can obtain. As it would not perhaps be applied in any way that will prove more useful to the country, I write at the instance of my wife to request that you will forward it to me…at this place, if still in your possession…G. Peyton." After Confederate General Richard Stoddert Ewell (1817-1872) lost his leg at the battle of Groveton, Va. on August 28, 1862. A painful recovery followed and after repeated injuries to his stump, numerous ill-fitting prosthetics, and with a replacement being hit by a Yankee bullet at Gettysburg; Ewell needed a new leg. Donald Pfanz in his recent book "Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life", credibly notes that Dr. Lefar was the man who helped Ewell finally find a new replacement leg in the autumn of 1863.Peyton, UVA Class 1852, also served on the staffs of Generals Grimes and Ramseur and following the war served as a proctor at the University of Virginia. Old period mounting, else VG.

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