Derek Hagerty

MS 202

MSG. Scott

3/25/10

General James Longstreet

James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina January 8, 1821.

At the age of nine he was sent to live with his uncle and aunt in Augusta, Georgia where

he would be able to get a better education. The move paid off as he was accepted to the

United States Military Academy in 1838. His mother had moved to Alabama after the

death of Longstreet’s father, so James was appointed by her local representative who just

happened to be a relative.

At West Point he was one of the most popular cadets however, he was not the

greatest student as he ended up graduating 54th out of 56. Upon graduation he branched

infantry and was stationed at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. While there he served as

best man in his friend Ulysses S. Grant’s wedding. Longstreet ended up getting married

in 1848 to Maria Louisa Garland. They would be together for forty years and have ten

children.

Before his marriage Longstreet fought in the Mexican-American war. The

Mexican-American war began after the U.S. annexed Texas in 1845. Mexico considered

Texas to be it’s territory even though the people of Texas had declared independence ten

years earlier. The fighting began when a two thousand man Mexican cavalry unit attacked

a seventy man US patrol in between the Rio Grande (what the Americans considered the

border) and the Nueces River ( what the Mexicans considered the border). Longstreet
served with the 8th Infantry and was promoted to major over the course of the war. He

fought in many battles including Chapultepec where he was shot in the thigh while

charging the hill and carrying the regimental colors. After the injury and the war

Longstreet and his young bride lived in Texas up to the beginning of the Civil War.

In June 1861 after a nineteen year career in the United States Army he resigned to

join the Confederacy. Longstreet decided to sign up with Alabama because he was the

states senior West Point grad, so he hoped it would lead to a higher rank. His first stop

was Richmond, Virginia where he met with President Jefferson Davis who made him a

Brigadier General. Longstreet then reported to General P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas

where he would see his first action of the war.

Most of the action at First Bull Run was on the opposite side of the line from

Longstreet’s brigade. Even though his men did not see much fighting they had to endure

nine hours of artillery fire and Longstreet was furious when the Confederate commanders

decided not to pursue the defeated Union Army. By winning this battle the Confederacy

established itself as a legitimate force. Previously many thought the North would have no

trouble putting down the rebellion, but they quickly saw that this would not be the case.

A few months after his first battle of the war Longstreet was promoted to Major

General and took command of an infantry division. Despite his recent military success his

life was about to take a tragic turn.

In January 1862 a scarlet fever epidemic hit Richmond which is where the

Longstreet family was living. Three of his children passed away within a one week span,

all of whom were under the age of six. After there deaths Longstreet became a different

man. Previously he had been a fairly outgoing man, attending many parties and known as
a very good poker player. He gave these up after taking a short break to spend time with

his family. For the rest of the war and his life he was a much more somber man.

Following the death of his children General Longstreet played a large role in the

Seven Days Battle. He had command of half of the Confederate Army, about fifteen

brigades, as they drove the Union Army down the Virginia Peninsula. After the battle

General Lee described Longstreet as the staff in his right hand. Longstreet was now

recognized by everyone as Lee’s top lieutenant and following the battles of Antietam and

Fredericksburg he would be recognized as the greatest defensive general on either side of

the war.

Longstreet was one of the few generals to recognize that with the new technology

available, including the machine gun, it was a huge advantage to take up a defensive

position. At Antietam he used the land to hold off a Union force twice the size of his own.

Next at Fredericksburg Longstreet had one of his finest battles. After guessing the route

his opponents would take he set up his artillery to turn it into a kill zone. His men dug

trenches and built walls to protect themselves and when the Union showed up they were

ready. Over the course of the battle Longstreet lost only 500 men while the attacking

Union saw 10,000 soldiers go down. Longstreet was now established as the anvil of the

army to Stonewall Jackson’s hammer.

After establishing himself as one of the best generals of the war Longstreet would

suffer a defeat in July of 1863 that would forever tarnish his image in the south. The

Battle of Gettysburg is perhaps the most well-known battle ever fought on American soil.

The Union Army set up on Cemetery Ridge and Lee ordered Longstreet to attack their

left flank. Longstreet, being a defensive minded general, was not thrilled about attacking
up a hill. Many other Confederate generals claim that Longstreet was supposed to attack

in the morning, but he dragged his heels. He did not begin moving his troops until 4 PM

and this gave the Union time to recognize the attack and strengthen the flank. The attack

ended up being unsuccessful and the attackers suffered heavy casualties. The next day

Longstreet was again ordered to assault the hill. This time he would be assaulting the

center of the union line, an attack that had almost no hope of success. It would come to be

known as Pickett’s Charge, after the division commander who would lead the way.

Longstreet’s men would be required to charge a mile of open field while going

uphill and trying to get over numerous fences. Longstreet told Lee, “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 fifteen thousand men ever arranged for battle can

take that position”. Longstreet would be criticized throughout history for his

unwillingness to go along whole-heartedly with Lee’s plan but few generals would.

However, after General Lee’s many accomplishments few could imagine that he would

ever be wrong. Needless to say Pickett’s Charge was a disaster. The causalities were

enormous and the Confederacy would never recover.

After Gettysburg Longstreet requested to transfer to the Western Theatre where he

would be under the command of his friend General Joseph E. Johnston. The request was

improved and Longstreet, with two divisions, took the 775 march to Northern Georgia.

Longstreet would spend the next 6 months quarreling with General Braxton Bragg who

was his immediate superior. Bragg had very little success throughout the war and

Longstreet’s time with him resulted in very little success. When spring came around
Longstreet and his division marched back east to rejoin Lee’s army where the Union was

now led by General Ulysses S. Grant, Longstreet’s old friend.

In his first battle back with Lee, Longstreet once again showed why he was a

great general when he saved the Confederates from defeat at the Battle of the Wilderness.

With the army being pushed back Longstreet flanked the Union army and drove an entire

corps from the battle. Unfortunately Longstreet was shot accidentally by his own men.

The bullet went through his shoulder and caused a gash in his throat. He spent the rest of

the war recovering. Even when he did come back at the very end his right arm was

basically useless and he could not even ride a horse. He would eventually regain the use

of his arm but with the end of the civil war his time as a general was over.

After the war Longstreet and his family settled in New Orleans. He was one of

very few southerners to join the Republican party and endorsed Ulysses S. Grant for

president. Because of this many considered him a traitor. To get away from the personal

attacks he moved with his family to Gainesville, Georgia. In 1889 his wife, Louise, died.

He would remarry 8 years later to the much younger Helen Dortch. Helen would outlive

him by nearly 60 years and spent most of her life trying to restore his place as one of the

war’s great generals. Longstreet himself would pass away on January 2nd, 1904 at the age

of eighty two.

For the first hundred years after the civil war General James Longstreet was

considered the man who lost the war for the south. However, over the past quarter

century he has begun to take his place as one of the greatest and most respected generals

of the confederacy.