James Longstreet

One of Longstreet’s best military moments was actually when he attacked the Union during the Northern Virginia Campaign. Jackson was being attacked in the center, and Longstreet has been blamed for letting Jackson fight for two days alone, when Longstreet and Lee launched a huge attack on the Union left flank. This attack sent Pope, Union general, running in much the same way as they ran at First Bull Run. Longstreet was praised for this victory but he replies that it was Lee’s perfect tactical plan.

One good example of Longstreet’s defensive fighting is Antietam. He holds off the Union forces and afterwards, Lee greets him and calls him, “…my old war-horse!” Longstreet is soon promoted to Lieutenant General, one day before Jackson. This makes Longstreet the higher general. Longstreet acquires control of five divisions, about 41,000 men. Soon, Longstreet proves himself as a great defensive fighter again at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Longstreet’s 1^st Corpse held off fourteen assaults by U.S. troops, killing over 10,000 men and only losing about 500. This was mainly because Longstreet had ordered trenches and fieldworks to be constructed before the battle.

Later, Longstreet was absent at Chancellorsville because he was somewhere else in Virginia. Even though Lee won this battle, Longstreet is criticized because he was not there. After Chancellorsville, Lee announced to Longstreet his plan of an offensive, invasion into the North. Longstreet disagreed with Lee. He thought that the only way to win the war was to find good ground, and let the Union attack them. He knew it would make up for the Confederacy’s lack of men. But, Lee was superior and so they traveled to Pennsylvania. At Gettysburg, many things happened to prevent the C.S.U. from winning the battle but most of the blame fell on Longstreet. First, Longstreet was supposed to attack the left flank but he “delayed”. The next day, he was ordered to make a massive attack on the Union center, using Pickett division and some brigades from A.P. Hill’s corpse. Longstreet is said to have been so reluctant to give this order, that when asked by Pickett if they were supposed to attack, Longstreet could only nod yes. The casualties because of this attack were great, which was a major contribution to the defeat at Gettysburg.

After Gettysburg, Longstreet served in the Western Theater for a while were he was victorious at Chickamauga. But he soon transferred back to the east to fight the Battle of the Wilderness, in which he was shot by his own men, not a mile away from where the same incident had happened to “Stonewall” Jackson. They won this battle because of Longstreet’s smart tactics which made up for the difference in numbers.

After the war, Longstreet settled in New Orleans. He became a Republican and was in favor of Grant’s presidency. This made his reputation with southerners decline. So, in 1875 he moved to Gainesville, Georgia and kind of retired. He was converted into a catholic in 1877 and remained so until death. He lived on a farm and raised turkeys. His wife died in 1889 and he remarried to Helen Dortch, age 34. He was also one of the only generals to live into the 20^th century. Longstreet was a very interesting man, a smart man, and a military genius, although he was blamed for the loss at Gettysburg.