His first significant action in this capacity came during the Peninsula Campaign in the summer of 1862, when the Confederate Army halted Union General George B. McClellan’s march toward Richmond during the Seven Days Battles. [38] All of Longstreet's divisions were forced to take a long detour while approaching the enemy position, misled by inadequate reconnaissance that failed to identify a completely concealed route. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Battle of Chapultepec; Pig War American Civil War. The justification for this course of action was becoming more urgent as Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was advancing on the critical Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, Vicksburg. [24] At the end of that bloodiest day of the Civil War, Lee greeted his subordinate by saying, "Ah! 180-98; Wert, p. 179. Finding out that his old friend Ulysses Grant was in command of the Union Army, he told his fellow officers that "he will fight us every day and every hour until the end of the war. After the war, Longstreet settled in New Orleans and went into private business. In the Mexican War, Longstreet served under Gen. Zachary Taylor, then Gen. Winfield Scott. He was sent to Richmond, Virginia, and commissioned as a brigadier general under the command of General P.G.T. Although he had reservations about secession, Longstreet was devoted to serving the interests of the South. In 1897 Longstreet married Helen Dortch, a woman over 40 years his junior. 346-61; Coddington, pp. Dickson, p. 1214; Tagg, p. 204; Wert, pp. Gallagher notes that Freeman comes to different conclusions in his later three-volume set. Criticism of Longstreet after the war was based not only on his reputed conduct at the Battle of Gettysburg, but also intemperate remarks he made about Robert E. Lee and his strategies, such as: That he [Lee] was excited and off his balance was evident on the afternoon of the 1st, and he labored under that oppression until enough blood was shed to appease him. Coddington, pp. 206-07. On the third day of the battle, Longstreet reluctantly oversaw the infamous offensive known as “Pickett’s Charge,” an attack by over 12,500 Confederates on the center of the Union lines. He reacted to the failure of the campaign by blaming others, as he had done at Seven Pines. Meeting with Lee, Longstreet was concerned about the strength of the Union defensive position and advocated a strategic movement around the left flank of the enemy, to "secure good ground between him and his capital," which would presumably compel the Union commander, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, to attack defensive positions erected by the Confederates. [53], The First Corps veterans arrived in the early stages of the Battle of Chickamauga. He was treated in Lynchburg, Virginia, and recuperated in Augusta, Georgia, with his niece, Emma Eve Longstreet Sibley, the daughter of his brother Gilbert. Jubal Early, in a speech at Washington College, exonerated Lee of his failure at Gettysburg and falsely accused Longstreet of attacking late on the second day and of being responsible for the debacle on the third. During his tenure, America’s territory grew by more than one-third and extended across the continent for the first time. He received at once the rank of brigadier general, and participated with distinction in the first battle of Bull Run, after which he was made a major general in 1862. Longstreet attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1838 to 1842 and was part of a class that included the future Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant and George Pickett. During the Battle of Antietam—the single bloodiest day of the Civil War—Longstreet mounted a defensive stand in which his army repelled a Union force nearly two times its size. James Longstreet rises to the rank of major in the U.S. Army, serving mostly on the western frontier. [23], Longstreet's actions in the final two major Confederate defensive battles of 1862 would be the proving grounds for his development of dominant defensive tactics. The two would marry in 1848 and go on to have 10 children, only five of whom survived past childhood. [32], This was written years after the campaign and is affected by hindsight, both of the results of the battle and of the postbellum criticism of the Lost Cause authors. Despite the dysfunctional command climate under Bragg, and the lack of support from the War Department and President Davis concerning Bragg's removal, Longstreet did the best he could to continue to seek options in the Chattanooga Campaign. [35], Longstreet's actions at the Battle of Gettysburg would be the centerpiece of the controversy that surrounded him for over a century. (In 1870, he was named president of the newly organized New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad.) Jackson has been described as the army's hammer, Longstreet its anvil. There were casualties of 38 killed and 79 wounded. [18], The military reputations of Lee's corps commanders are often characterized as Stonewall Jackson representing the audacious, offensive component of Lee's army, whereas Longstreet more typically advocated and executed defensive strategies and tactics. Sanger, Donald B., and Thomas Robson Hay. [20], When Longstreet's men arrived around midday on August 29, Lee planned a flanking attack on the Union Army, which was concentrating its attention on Jackson. 134-52. Wert, pp. It established a strategic model he believed to be ideal—the use of defensive tactics within a strategic offensive. He retreated with Lee in the Appomattox Campaign, commanding both the First and Third Corps, following the death of A.P. In 1865 he surrendered along with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. [77], Criticism from authors in the Lost Cause movement attacked Longstreet's war career for many years after his death. James Longstreet in uniform. Lt. Col. Harold M. Knudsen claims that Longstreet was one of the few Civil War officers truly aware of this. For over four hours they "pounded like a giant hammer"[22] with Longstreet actively directing artillery fire and sending brigades into the fray. Longstreet wrote to Seddon, "I am convinced that nothing but the hand of God can save us or help us as long as we have our present commander." Since Bragg's army was under increasing pressure from Rosecrans outside of Chattanooga, Lee and President Davis agreed to the request on September 5. Pope came to believe that Jackson was starting to retreat and Longstreet took advantage of this by launching a massive assault on the Union army's left flank with over 25,000 men. Wert, pp. 493-534; Wert, pp. [citation needed] Regardless of the controversy regarding the preparations, however, once the assault began around 4 p.m., Longstreet pressed the assault by McLaws and Hood (Pickett's division had not yet arrived) competently against fierce Union resistance, but it was largely unsuccessful, with significant casualties. During the Battle of the Wilderness in May of that year, Longstreet was accidentally wounded by his own men. 166-87; Dickson, p. 1215; O'Reilly, p. 499. After the war Longstreet’s criticism of Robert E. Lee’s tactics and his support of Lincoln’s Republican party—in particular the 1868 presidential campaign of Ulysses S. Grant—led to repeated attacks on his character in the South. Hill entered the Civil War in March 1861 as a colonel and experienced a meteoric rise to the rank of major general in the spring of 1862. However, this operation caused Longstreet and 15,000 men of the First Corps to be absent from the Battle of Chancellorsville in May. He attempted to pass the responsibility for launching Pickett's division to his artillery chief, Col. Edward Porter Alexander. Longstreet, pp. He had taught himself to write with his left hand; by periodically pulling on his arm, as advised by doctors, he was able to regain use of his right hand in later years. (Longstreet, despite his use of scouting parties, was apparently unaware that a considerable body of troops from the Union VI Corps was in position to block this move.) He knew this Union reaction was underway, and that the nearest railhead was Bridgeport, Alabama, where portions of two Union corps would soon arrive. Although Longstreet's motivations have long been clouded by the vitriol of the Lost Cause partisans (see Legacy), many historians agree that Longstreet did not aggressively pursue Lee's orders to launch an attack as early as possible. [88], The Longstreet Society is an organization and museum in Gainesville, dedicated to the celebration and study of his life and career. E.P. A spy he had hired, Henry Thomas Harrison who went by just "Harrison", was instrumental in warning the Confederates that the Union Army of the Potomac was advancing north to meet them more quickly than they had anticipated, prompting Lee to order the immediate concentration of his army near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. With two brevets and the staff rank … [54] By chance, a mistaken order from General Rosecrans caused a gap to appear in the Union line and Longstreet took additional advantage of it to increase his chances of success. President Jefferson Davis met with Longstreet to appoint him with the rank of brigadier general. James was a poor student academically and a disciplinary problem at West Point, ranking 54th out of 56 cadets when he graduated in 1842. Name: James Longstreet State Served: Georgia Highest Rank: Lieut-Gen Birth Date: 1821 Death Date: 1904 Birth Place: Edgefield District, South Carolina Army: Confederacy. [32] The Confederate Army's system of using four grades of general officers is currently the same rank structure used by the U.S. Army (in use since shortly after the Civil War) and is also the system used by the U.S. Marine Corps (in use since World War II ). He later wrote that he endorsed the strategy only after confirming that the campaign would be based around fighting from defensive positions—the same tactic that had been so effective at Fredericksburg. When the Civil War began, he resigned from the United States Army to join the Confederacy. Late in the war, Longstreet protected critical railroad lines while in command of forces entrenched between Richmond and the James River. Longstreet stated that Bragg "was incompetent to manage an army or put men into a fight" and that he "knew nothing of the business." Wilderness historian Edward Steere attributed much of the success of the Army to "the display of tactical genius by Longstreet which more than redressed his disparity in numerical strength. You have given the Union cause too much trouble." He returned from the war after receiving a serious leg wound and spent the next several years in uneventful peacetime service. By this time Louise had given birth to ten children, five of whom lived to adulthood. "Could Longstreet's Delay Have Been Avoided?". Longstreet knew this assault had little chance of success. Longstreet gave all of the credit for the victory to Lee, describing the campaign as "clever and brilliant." 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