General Longstreet
James Longstreet was born in South Carolina and attended West Point, graduating 54th out of 62 cadets in 1842. At the point, he became close friends with Ulysses S Grant, and after graduation, both officers were appointed to the 4th US Infantry. He fought in Mexico, participating in many of the most important battles of the war including Vera Cruz, Churubusco, and Chapultepec, there being wounded. He fought alongside his future subordinate George Pickett. Following the close of the war, he served in the Indian action, rising to the rank of major by 1858. He was serving in New Mexico when his state seceded and resigned after nearly 20 years of service. He was quickly promoted to brigadier general and reported to PGT Beauregard in July 1861 for duty. He and Jackson were both promoted to major general in November 1861 under Joseph E Johnston. He was given command of a division of 6 brigades, units that would eventually become his First Corps. He was generally well liked by his men, called “Old Pete,” and had a hand for poker and a head for whiskey. In January 1862, all three of his children were taken by scarlet fever. He quickly (and controversially) returned to service, still performing well, in the peninsula campaign, but he withdrew from the camp camaraderie and stuck to himself becoming a quiet, intense individual. At Williamsburg, Johnston claimed that he had taken little part in the battle, leaving virtually the entire matter to Longstreet’s expertise. He quickly gained Lee’s trust, being referred to by Lee as “My Old War Horse.” He was extremely cool under fire, gathering respect for actions at Second Manassas and Sharpsburg. He was promoted to lieutenant general and commander of the First Corps, clearly considering himself the ranking officer of Jackson, but respecting him all the same. At Fredericksburg, he held the famous Marye’s Heights but was foraging and not present at Chancellorsville. He had rejoined the army and became Lee’s dependable general at Gettysburg, performing well, but resisting many of Lee’s command decisions and raising controversy from critics. He was sent west to help General Braxton Bragg, arriving in time to rout much of the Federal army at Chickamauga. He and his staff were not warmly received and were happy to return to the Army of Northern Virginia in April 1864. In the battle of the Wilderness, his men performed well catching the Yankees in a deadly crossfire, but Longstreet was shot in the neck by his own troops, not far from where Jackson suffered a similar fate the previous year. He was attended to swiftly however, saving his life, but his right arm would be permanently paralyzed. He did not return to his army until October when his men were dead-locked at Petersburg. When A P Hill was killed, Longstreet took command of his Third Corps, but they would soon be surrendered at Appomattox. He continued to be controversial post war in a variety of ways, dying in 1904.
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