General James Longstreet : the Confederacy's most controversial soldier : a biography

General James Longstreet fought in nearly every campaign of the Civil War, from Manassas (the first battle of Bull Run) to Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. Yet, he was largely held to blame for the Confederacy's defeat at Gettysburg. General James Longstreet sheds new light on the controversial commander and the man Robert E. Lee called "my old war horse." General James Longstreet was Lee's senior lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia and the general whose conduct at the Battle of Gettysburg remains a topic of heated debate more than 130 years later. Longstreet first saw action in the Mexican War. He joined the Confederacy soon after the Civil War began and fought in nearly every campaign of Lee's army as well as in a major campaign in the Western theater. He led troops from the brigade to the corps level, at First and Second Manassas, Seven Pines, Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Petersburg. He scored a decisive victory at Chickamauga. And at war's end he stood alongside Lee at the surrender ceremony at Appomattox. Longstreet led the First Corps under Lee, outranking the better-known commander of the Second Corps, Stonewall Jackson. "Old Pete," as his soldiers called him, was a superb battlefield commander with great tactical skill. But he has long been blamed, especially in the South, for the crucial Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Jeffry Wert argues that Longstreet opposed Lee's ill-fated frontal assault on July 3 and that, had Lee followed Longstreet's advice to take a more defensive posture, the battle might have turned out differently. After the war, Longstreet joined the Republican Party and became a political apostate in the South during the Reconstruction era. When he died in relative obscurity in 1904, only his old soldiers remembered him. This is the first full-scale biography of Longstreet in forty years, and it returns him to his position of central importance in the Civil War. Jeffry D. Wert's extensive research included unpublished memoirs, diaries, and letters from several archives. - Jacket flap. Long been blamed, especially in the South, for the crucial Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Jeffry Wert argues that Longstreet opposed Lee's ill-fated frontal assault on July 3 and that, had Lee followed Longstreet s advice to take a more defensive posture, the battle might have turned out differently. After the war, Longstreet joined the Republican Party and became a political apostate in the South during the Reconstruction era. When he died in relative obscurity in Soldier's journey Soldier's trade Manassas Generals Toward Richmond A "Misunderstanding" at Seven Pines "The staff in my right hand" Return to Manassas "My old war-horse" "I will kill them all" Independent command Collision in Pennsylvania Gettysburg, July 2, 1863 "Never was I so depressed" "Longstreet is the man" "Nothing but the hand of God can save us" Knoxville "The impossible position that I held" Two roads Final journey