Division Commander, May–October 1864

This chapter reports that as fighting progressed during May, Ewell's precarious health declined and it was said that he could no longer continue to campaign without respite. It further reports that Ramseur was selected to succeed as division commander and Early assumed temporary control of Lee's Second Corps. The chapter notes that Ramseur's first trial under fire as senior commander ensued quickly on May 30, the eve of his last birthday. It notes that Ramseur was promoted to the rank of major general at the age of twenty-seven years, the youngest West Pointer to achieve this rank in the Confederate Army. The chapter explains that his first letters home as a division commander focus on successes achieved in his last month as brigadier.