James Longstreet
Born in Edgefield District in South Carolina on Jan. 8, 1821
Graduated at West Point in 1842
Second Lt. July 1, 1842
Served in Texas during 1845-1846
Served in Mexican War 1846-1847
First Lt. Feb. 23, 1847
Served in the West until 1861
Captain, Dec. 7, 1852
Major Gen. Confederate Army in 1861
Served in Northern VA until April 1863
Served in Tennessee until 1864
Minister to Turkey in 1880
Died Jan. 2, 1904
He was hardheaded, solid, and he looked it. His mood was usually somber. He seldom spoke unnecessarily. His weather stained clothes, splashed boots and heavy black hat gave a certain fierce aspect to the man. General Lee said " the iron endurance of General Longstreet is most extraordinary: he seems to require neither food nor sleep." As a fighter he was superb, the best fighter in the Army of Northern Virginia, the soldiers called him. His soldiers believed in him and trusted him. He spoke straight out to them, as if he meant it. Sometimes it was with a heavy sarcasm, as at Gettysburg, to an officer who complained of not being able to bring up his troops: "Very well, never mind, then, General; just let them remain where they are; the enemy's going to advance, and will spare you the trouble." More often he gave them sound, direct, practical advice, of the kind to put heart into a man: "Let officers and men, even under the most formidable fire, preserve a quiet demeanor and self-possessed temper. Keep cool, obey orders, and aim low. Remember, while you are doing this, and driving the enemy before you, your comrades may be relied upon to support you on either side, and are in turn relying upon you." The same imperturbable coolness that distinguished Longstreet in actual fighting characterized him as a leader. He was never anxious, never flurried. Victory could not over excite him with triumph, nor defeat with confusion. He made every preparation, took every precaution, was ready for difficulties and indifferent to dangers Fremantle said" Everyone deplores that Longstreet will expose himself in such a reckless manner. Today he led a Georgian regiment in a charge against a battery, hat in hand and in front of everybody."
General Lee and Longstreet were closer than any of the other Generals in the Confederate Army. Gen. Longstreet said that there was never a harsh word between them. Unlike Gen. Jackson, Longstreet did see a few faults in Lee's battle demeanor. Longstreet thought that Lee at times became excited during battle and Longstreet thought it his duty to watch these actions and advise Lee correctly in these situations without emotion.
It was Longstreet who conceived the plan by which Jackson was to be called from the Valley that McClellan might be driven from the Peninsula, and if Jackson had been at all equal to the occasion, a great triumph would have been achieved. It was Longstreet who found Lee hesitating about going into Maryland on account of lack of supplies. "But I reminded him of my experiences in Mexico, where sometimes we were obliged to live two or three days on green corn."
At Gettysburg it was well known that Longstreet was totally against the plan. Longstreet believed that the main operations should be in the West. Lee was unwilling to agree to this, and accepted Lee's proposal for a campaign into Pennsylvania, provided it was offensive in strategy, but defensive in tactics. At Gettysburg Longstreet suggested that the course seemed to be at variance with the plan of the campaign that had been agreed on before leaving Fredericksburg. Lee said," If the enemy is there tomorrow, we must attack him." I said that it seemed to me that if, during our council at Fredericksburg, we had described the position in which we desired to get the two armies, we could not have expected to get the enemy in a better position for us than he then occupied. He however did not seem to abandon the idea of attack on the next day. Longstreet to Lee on the third day at Gettysburg, "General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know as well as any one what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position," pointing to Cemetery Hill. General Lee in reply to this ordered me to prepare Pickett's division for the attack."
And even better than Longstreet's love for his men is his men's love for him. The immense collection of testimonial letters printed in Mrs. Longstreet's book goes far beyond mere conventional eulogy. It shows devotion and a regret, which can only have been bred by something great. The old soldier who brought his gray jacket and his enlistment papers to be buried in his General’s grave best illustrates these feelings. "I've served my time, and the General, he's served his time too. And I reckon I won't need my uniform and papers again. But I'd like to leave them with him for always. To inspire devotion like that a leader must, indeed, have noble qualities, and moreover, it confirms one in the belief that a round self-confidence, backed by tried capacity, is a trait men cling to, as much as to anything, in the hour of trouble.
Longstreet longed to take his army to the west. He believed that this was where he could contribute the most. When finally President Davis and General Lee allowed this movement the impact was quick. He arrived in North Georgia by train just in time to seal a victory at Chickamauga. Longstreet’s well-placed attack pierced the Union front and threw them into a wild retreat. In Georgia Longstreet will always be remembered for this heroic deed.
After the war Longstreet moved to New Orleans where he joined the Republican Party. The Republican affiliation and his friendship with Gen. Grant caused him to be unpopular in the South at the time. Later he settled in Georgia and served as a US Marshall 1881-1884.
