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LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE
LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE
LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE GETTYSBURG IN THE LIGHT OF THE OFFICIAL RECORDS BY HELEN D. LONGSTREET PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR GAINESVILLE, GA. 1904 Copyright, 1904 By Helen D. Longstreet Electrotyped and Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia TO LONGSTREET AT GETTYSBURG FROM HER WHO SINCE CHILDHOOD HAS HELD HIS HEROIC DEEDS AS SOLDIER AND CITIZEN AMONG THE PRICELESS INHERITANCES OF THE GREAT REPUBLIC...
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PREFACE
PREFACE
This brief story of a gigantic event, and General Longstreet’s part therein was arranged for publication in book form in the fall of 1903, before his death, which occurred January 2, 1904. It is the carefully sifted story of the records and contemporaneous witnesses, and for clearness I have here and there introduced General Longstreet’s personal version of some of the disputed points. But the reader will perceive that at last it is the story of the records . For my undertaking I drew liberally
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
I am glad to write an introduction to a memoir of Lieutenant-General Longstreet. If it be thought strange that I should write a preface to a memoir of a conspicuous adversary, I reply that the Civil War is only a memory, its asperities are forgotten, both armies were American, old army friendships have been renewed and new army friendships have been formed among the combatants, the truth of history is dear to all of us, and the amenities of chivalrous manhood are cherished alike by the North and
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LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE CHAPTER I THE STORY OF GETTYSBURG
LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE CHAPTER I THE STORY OF GETTYSBURG
Back of the day that opened so auspiciously for the Confederate cause at the first Manassas, and of the four years that followed, lies Longstreet’s record of a quarter of a century in the Union army, completing one of the most lustrous pages in the world’s war history. That page cannot be dimmed or darkened; it rests secure in its own white splendor, above the touch of detractors. The detractors of General Longstreet’s military integrity assert that, being opposed to fighting an offensive battle
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CHAPTER II LEE CHANGES PLAN OF CAMPAIGN
CHAPTER II LEE CHANGES PLAN OF CAMPAIGN
“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 arrayed for battle can take that position,” pointing to Cemetery Hill.— Longstreet to Lee. General Longstreet’s personal account of this magnificent battle “up the Emmitsburg road” will not be out of place here. In the newspaper arti
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CHAPTER III PICKETT’S CHARGE
CHAPTER III PICKETT’S CHARGE
“Pickett swept past our artillery in splendid style, and the men marched steadily and compactly down the slope. As they started up the ridge over one hundred cannon from the breastworks of the Federals hurled a rain of canister, grape, and shell down upon them; still they pressed on until half-way up the slope, when the crest of the hill was lit with a solid sheet of flame as the masses of infantry rose and fired. When the smoke cleared away Pickett’s division was gone. Nearly two-thirds of his
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CHAPTER IV GORDON’S “ESTABLISHED FACTS” AND PENDLETON’S FULMINATIONS
CHAPTER IV GORDON’S “ESTABLISHED FACTS” AND PENDLETON’S FULMINATIONS
No officer in a position to know anything about the matter confirmed Pendleton’s statement, while everybody who should have been aware of such an important order directly contradicted it, as do all the records. Continuing on the subject of Longstreet’s alleged disobedience, Gordon considers the following as another of the “facts established:” “Thirdly, that General Lee, according to the testimony of Colonel Walter Taylor, Colonel C. S. Venable, and General A. L. Long, who were present when the o
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CHAPTER V LONGSTREET’S VERSION OF THE OPERATIONS OF JULY 2
CHAPTER V LONGSTREET’S VERSION OF THE OPERATIONS OF JULY 2
“General Lee never in his life gave me orders to open an attack at a specific hour. He was perfectly satisfied that when I had my troops in position and was ordered to attack, no time was ever lost.”— Longstreet On the Second Day at Gettysburg. The hour, the feasibility, and point of attack have now been thoroughly discussed, mainly from the stand-point of the official records. As supplementary to the recitations of the official reports of Lee, Longstreet, Pendleton, and others quoted on these
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CHAPTER VI PENDLETON’S REPORT
CHAPTER VI PENDLETON’S REPORT
“Pendleton’s report will destroy many illusions of Lee’s misguided friends who are unwittingly doing deadly injury to his military fame by magnifying the mistakes of Gettysburg and ascribing them to another.”— Leslie J. Perry , formerly of the War Records Department. There is even more positive proof than has yet been produced. That Lee gave no such order as described in Pendleton’s Lexington lecture, or for an “early attack,” as asserted by Gordon now, is absolutely proved by an official repo
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CHAPTER VII PENDLETON’S UNRELIABLE MEMORY
CHAPTER VII PENDLETON’S UNRELIABLE MEMORY
All the battle worthy the name for the Southern cause at Gettysburg on the 2d and 3d was made by Longstreet. The whole superstructure of the contentions against his honor as a soldier is based solely on the statements since the war, and since Lee’s death, of two or three obscure individuals. They are easily exploded by the records of the battles; they are corroborated by none. When the Rev. Dr. Pendleton told that dramatic story to his breathless hearers at Lexington in 1873, under “pressure of
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CHAPTER VIII GENERAL LONGSTREET’S AMERICANISM
CHAPTER VIII GENERAL LONGSTREET’S AMERICANISM
“The strongest laws are those established by the sword. The ideas that divided political parties before the war—upon the rights of the States—were thoroughly discussed by our wisest statesmen, and eventually appealed to the arbitrament of the sword. The decision was in favor of the North, so that her construction becomes the law, and should be so accepted.”— General Longstreet in “From Manassas to Appomattox.” It seems advisable here to introduce General Longstreet’s personal version of th
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CHAPTER IX FINALE
CHAPTER IX FINALE
Mr. Valiant summoned. His will. His last words. Then, said he, “I am going to my Father’s.... My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it.” ... And as he went down deeper, he said, “Grave, where is thy victory?” So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.— Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” The personal letters and official reports of Robert E. Lee, reproduced in this work, clearly established that fr
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LONGSTREET THE MAN HIS BOYHOOD DAYS
LONGSTREET THE MAN HIS BOYHOOD DAYS
The original plan of this little work was to publish only the short story of Gettysburg which was written while General Longstreet lived. My friends have insisted that the generous public, although it has received the prospectus of the work with such warm appreciation, will be disappointed if I discuss only the one event of his most eventful life. And so have been added the paper on the Mexican War and chapters on his famous campaigns of the Civil War. They have insisted further that I must spea
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LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP OF GRANT AND LONGSTREET
LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP OF GRANT AND LONGSTREET
I may be pardoned for digressing here to speak of the strong school-boy friendship which began at West Point between Grant and Longstreet and lasted throughout their lives. Grant was of the class after Longstreet, but somehow their silent serious natures were in spontaneous accord, and they became fast friends from their first meeting. That one was from the West and one from the South made no difference, just as later it made no difference in their feeling of personal affection that one led the
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HIS FIRST ROMANCE
HIS FIRST ROMANCE
Fifty years before the pleasant day in San Diego, fresh from the fields of his honors and victories in Mexico, young Major Longstreet had come home to wed the daughter of his old brigade commander, Colonel John Garland. She was Marie Louise Garland, a very charming woman, and so small of figure as to be in striking contrast to her husband of six feet two. They were engaged for some time before the breaking out of the Mexican War. With a lofty deference, which he bravely overcame in later life, h
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HEROIC CITIZEN OF THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
HEROIC CITIZEN OF THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
Longstreet entered the Confederate service as brigadier-general, and reported for duty to General Beauregard at the first Manassas. After the baptism of fire at Antietam, in 1862, Longstreet was made lieutenant-general, next in rank to Lee. This rank he retained to the end of the war, ranking even Stonewall Jackson. This fact is especially mentioned, because the last generation of the South have often confused the rank secured by their fathers in the war with the paper ranks given by the Confede
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THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT LOVED THE SOUTH TO THE LAST
THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT LOVED THE SOUTH TO THE LAST
When General Longstreet quit fighting, he quit fighting for good. He considered that the South was back in the Union to stay. There is no doubt in the minds of many with whom I have talked that General Longstreet’s conciliatory course, because of its effect in holding thousands obedient to the laws of the government, prevented the confiscation of much property in the South immediately after the war, and greatly alleviated the trials of that distressing period. The local ostracism of that day and
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WORSHIPPED BY THE SOLDIERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
WORSHIPPED BY THE SOLDIERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
The political estrangements between General Longstreet and many of the leaders of the South never extended to the soldiers who did any large amount of fighting for the South. There was a Confederate reunion in Atlanta in 1898. A camp of Confederate Veterans, of Augusta, Georgia, made up of his old command, sent General Longstreet a special request to come down from his home in Gainesville, and to wear his old uniform. He replied that his uniform had been destroyed years ago in the fire which bur
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HIS COUNTRY HOME IN PICTURESQUE NORTH GEORGIA
HIS COUNTRY HOME IN PICTURESQUE NORTH GEORGIA
Next to the smoke of battle in the cause of his country, he loved nature in her gentlest and most quiet moods. He was fond of the forest and farm. He owned a small farm near Gainesville, Georgia, which was one of the delights of his life. Here he set out an orchard and a vineyard on a scale somewhat extensive, in which he found much pleasure. It is a hilly, uneven country, this rugged Piedmont section of north Georgia, noted for its red clay, its rocks, its mighty trees, the wild honeysuckles th
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LONGSTREET ON THE FIELDS OF MEXICO CHAPTER I THE WINNING OF OUR WESTERN EMPIRE
LONGSTREET ON THE FIELDS OF MEXICO CHAPTER I THE WINNING OF OUR WESTERN EMPIRE
Mexico will always be a land of romance. Her ruins are yet fragrant with memories of the mighty plans of Louis Napoleon. After an absence of fifty years, General Longstreet revisited Mexico in the eventful summer of 1898, leisurely passing over some of the scenes of his early military experiences. Half a century had stolen away, yet architecturally he found Mexico but little changed. Few of the old landmarks were effaced. Modern ideas and inventions have been encouraged and do prevail in our sis
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CHAPTER II PECULIARITIES OF SCOTT AND TAYLOR
CHAPTER II PECULIARITIES OF SCOTT AND TAYLOR
As we gazed down from Chapultepec’s heights, on that fragrant day of 1898, across the beautiful valley of Mexico, the war of fifty years agone seemed but yesterday to him who on those fields had added a new star of the first magnitude to the galaxy of American valor. Since those old days General Longstreet often speculated on the result if Taylor and Scott had been required to handle the armies of Lee and Grant and meet the conditions which confronted the great Union and Confederate leaders at t
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CHAPTER III UNPRETENTIOUS LIEUTENANT GRANT
CHAPTER III UNPRETENTIOUS LIEUTENANT GRANT
It was not until Grant came East during the Civil War that Longstreet began fully to appreciate his military ability. Grant’s successes at Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg were but vaguely understood in the Army of Northern Virginia, where they were mainly ascribed to bad generalship on the Confederate side, and some blundering good luck on Grant’s part. Lieutenant Grant, of the Fourth, had acquired great reputation at the Military Academy as an expert horseman. He was always the show rider upon
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CHAPTER IV PLEASANT INCIDENTS OF CAMP LIFE AT CORPUS CHRISTI
CHAPTER IV PLEASANT INCIDENTS OF CAMP LIFE AT CORPUS CHRISTI
The reunion at Corpus Christi made a deep impression upon the fledglings of the service. The long encampment there formed a green spot in the memory of the little army that bore our colors in triumph to the city of Mexico. Among General Longstreet’s pleasant memories of camp life at Corpus Christi was a rude theatre erected by a joint stock company of the young officers, who acted in the plays produced on its boards, taking both male and female parts. Many roaring comedies were billed, and cheer
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CHAPTER V INTO THE INTERIOR OF MEXICO
CHAPTER V INTO THE INTERIOR OF MEXICO
In after-years Lee’s admirers claimed that much of Scott’s glory on the fields of Mexico was due to Lee’s military ability. Scott gave him great praise. When it was learned that two divisions of Taylor’s army had been ordered to the coast, there was much speculation at the front as to the meaning of the movement. The younger contingent immediately jumped to the conclusion that the war was over, and that Twiggs’s and Patterson’s troops were ordered home. This proved not to be the case, but the ar
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CHAPTER VI FROM CONTRERAS TO CHAPULTEPEC
CHAPTER VI FROM CONTRERAS TO CHAPULTEPEC
While rushing up the heights of Chapultepec with the regimental flag in his hands, Longstreet was severely wounded by a musket-ball through the thigh. After Longstreet fell, George E. Pickett carried the old Eighth’s flag to the works on the hill and to the top of the castle. On the 18th the brilliant action of Contreras was fought. Here Scott outmanœuvred the enemy completely, employing again the Cerro Gordo tactics, and striking him in flank and rear. The routed Mexicans fled back to the forti
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CHAPTER VII LONGSTREET’S HONEYMOON
CHAPTER VII LONGSTREET’S HONEYMOON
After reaching home from Mexico, Longstreet soon regained his strength. He then wrote to Colonel John Garland, of Virginia, his old brigade commander, asking for his youngest daughter. Colonel Garland promptly replied, “Yes, with all my heart.” With several wounded comrades Longstreet was assigned quarters with the Escandons, a kind-hearted, refined Mexican family. They could not conceal their deep chagrin at the defeat of their army, and were doubtless mortified by the enforced presence of the
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GREAT BATTLES BEFORE AND AFTER GETTYSBURG THE FIRST MANASSAS
GREAT BATTLES BEFORE AND AFTER GETTYSBURG THE FIRST MANASSAS
The armies that prepared for the first grand conflict of the Civil War were commanded by West Point graduates, both of the Class of 1838,—Beauregard and McDowell. The latter had been assigned to the command of the Federal forces at Washington, south of the Potomac, in the latter part of May, 1861. The former had assumed command of the Confederates at Manassas Junction about the 1st of June. To him, Brigadier-General Longstreet reported for duty. McDowell marched on the afternoon of the 16th of
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WILLIAMSBURG
WILLIAMSBURG
“General Longstreet’s clear head and brave heart left no apology for interference at Williamsburg.”— Joseph E. Johnston. This battle was fairly fought and dearly won by the Confederacy, May 5, 1862. General Joseph E. Johnston was chief in command and General Longstreet had the active direction of the battle. In his official report upon the battle, General Johnston said,— “The action gradually increased in magnitude until about three o’clock, when General Longstreet, commanding the rear, requ
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FRAYSER’S FARM
FRAYSER’S FARM
Stonewall Jackson was in the Shenandoah Valley and the rest of the Confederate troops were east and north of Richmond. In front General McClellan’s army was encamped, a hundred thousand strong, about the Chickahominy River preparing for a regular siege of the Confederate capital. His army was unassailable from the front, and he had a small force at Mechanicsville and a much larger force farther back at Beaver Dam Creek. A Confederate conference was called. Longstreet suggested that Jackson be ca
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MARCH AGAINST POPE AND THE SECOND MANASSAS
MARCH AGAINST POPE AND THE SECOND MANASSAS
Even as early as 1862 the Union army had been using balloons to examine the position of the Confederates, and even that early, the scanty resources of the Confederates made the use of balloons a luxury that could not be afforded. While gazing enviously upon the handsome balloons of the Federals floating serenely at a distance that their guns could not reach, a Confederate genius suggested that all the silk dresses in the Confederacy be got together and made into balloons. This was done, and soon
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THE INVASION OF MARYLAND AND THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
THE INVASION OF MARYLAND AND THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
General Longstreet always thought that the division of the Confederate army after they moved into Maryland proved their downfall. This, however, is not a part of my story. At this time General Pope had been relieved and General McClellan restored to the command of the Union army. With ninety thousand troops, he marched towards Antietam to avenge the second Manassas. General D. H. Hill was at South Mountain with five thousand men; Longstreet’s First Corps was at Hagerstown, thirteen miles farther
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FREDERICKSBURG
FREDERICKSBURG
When General Lee learned that General McClellan had been succeeded by General Burnside, he expressed regret at having to part with McClellan, because, he said, “We always understood each other so well. I fear they may continue to make these changes till they find some one whom I don’t understand.” The Federal army was encamped around Warrenton, Virginia, and was divided into three grand divisions, under Generals Sumner, Hooker, and Franklin. Lee’s army was on the opposite side of the Rappahannoc
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CHICKAMAUGA
CHICKAMAUGA
This battle marked the only great Confederate victory won in the West, and was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Indeed, the contest for the bloodiest day in this great war is, I believe, between Antietam and Chickamauga. Official reports show that on both sides the casualties embrace the enormous proportion of thirty-three per cent. of the troops actually engaged. On the Union side there were over a score of regiments in which the losses in this single fight exceeded 49.4 per cent. The “
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IN EAST TENNESSEE
IN EAST TENNESSEE
About the 1st of November, 1863, it was determined at Confederate head-quarters that Longstreet should be ordered into East Tennessee against General Burnside’s army. On the 22d of October General Grant joined the army, and it was known that General Sherman was marching to join him. On the 20th of October General Burnside reported by letter to General Grant an army of twenty-two thousand three hundred men, with ninety-odd guns, but his returns for November gave a force of twenty-five thousand tw
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THE WILDERNESS
THE WILDERNESS
The Wilderness is a forest land about fifteen miles square, lying between and equidistant from Orange Court-House and Fredericksburg. It is broken occasionally by small farms and abandoned clearings, and two roads,—the Orange Plank Road and the turnpike, which are cut at right angles by the Germania road,—in general course nearly parallel, open ways through it between Fredericksburg and the Court-House. The Germania Ford road joins the Brock road, the strategic line of the military zone, and
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THE CURTAIN FALLS AT APPOMATTOX
THE CURTAIN FALLS AT APPOMATTOX
In discussing the war, General Longstreet always dwelt with peculiar tenderness on the last days that culminated with the surrender at Appomattox. His mental belief for two years before the surrender was that from the very nature of the situation the Union forces would in all probability finally triumph, but his brave heart never knew how to give up the fight, and the surrender was at last agreed upon while he was still protesting against it. The incident is well known of a number of the leading
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APPENDIX LONGSTREET
APPENDIX LONGSTREET
—W. A. P., in Chicago Journal. —W. A. P., in Chicago Journal....
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JAMES LONGSTREET
JAMES LONGSTREET
James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821, son of James and Mary Ann (Dent) Longstreet, and a descendant of the Longstreets and Randolphs of New Jersey and the Dents and Marshalls of Maryland and Virginia. Richard Longstreet, progenitor of the name in America, settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey. James Longstreet, subject of this sketch, removed with his parents to Alabama in 1831, from which State he received his appointment to West Point, and was gradu
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(A. S. Hardy, in the Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia.)
(A. S. Hardy, in the Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia.)
Gainesville, Georgia , January 6, 1904. The funeral of General James Longstreet, which was held at eleven o’clock to-day at the county court-house, was the most impressive ceremonial ever held in Gainesville. Several thousand people gathered in and around the court-house, and when the guards threw open the doors to the public just preceding the service, which occurred in the main court-room instead of in the rotunda as originally intended, there was a great crush, though every endeavor was made
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(From the Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution.) (By Alan Rogers.)
(From the Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution.) (By Alan Rogers.)
Pathetic Scenes Marked the Interment of Lee’s “Old War-Horse.” Gainesville, Georgia , January 6, 1904. Slowly the bells of Gainesville toll a requiem, the last taps have sounded only to be lost again across the winter-browned fields of Georgia, but the reveille of awakening still rings out clear and true that to-day old comrades in arms, citizens, soldiers, admirers, friends, women of the South, children of a rising generation, Georgia, and all Dixieland may know that Lieutenant-General James Lo
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(Washington, D. C., Post.)
(Washington, D. C., Post.)
“His are as noble ashes as rest beneath the sod of any land.” We think it safe to say that there is something in the suggestion that these late attacks on General Longstreet’s action at the battle of Gettysburg have for their inspiration a political bitterness of more than thirty years’ standing. Certainly, it is true that up to the close of the Civil War, and, indeed, for several years afterwards, no one ever heard a question raised as to his military ability. On the contrary, it was everywhere
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(Jacksonville, Florida, Times-Union.)
(Jacksonville, Florida, Times-Union.)
“Peace and honor to his storm-driven soul.” Now that James Longstreet is no more, the South should forgive the estrangement that followed long years of service. Perhaps he was wiser than we—perhaps to-day we are not very far from the position he took a generation ago. Perhaps his greatness as a soldier was largely due to the same qualities which set his people in opposition to him in civil life—he had utter confidence in his own judgment, and he went straight for what he thought was right re
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(Shelby, North Carolina, Aurora.)
(Shelby, North Carolina, Aurora.)
“Hero of two wars punished for his politics in days of peace.” A camp of United Confederate Veterans at Wilmington, at a regular meeting, declined to send resolutions of condolence and sympathy to the family of General Longstreet on his death. And yet General Longstreet was a Hero of two wars. He was the “War-Horse of the Confederacy.” He was in the thickest of the fight from Manassas to Appomattox. He was familiarly known throughout the army as “Old Pete,” and was considered the hardest fighter
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(Biblical, North Carolina, Record.)
(Biblical, North Carolina, Record.)
“So long as Lee lived no one attacked Longstreet’s military honor.” General Longstreet was a great general. He was an able strategist, a hard fighter, and a faithful soldier. So long as Lee lived no one charged Longstreet with failure to make the fanciful sunrise attack on the second day at Gettysburg. But when Lee had died, this calumny was started, and it was used in hounding him to the day of his death—on that day certain misguided Daughters of the Confederacy refusing to send flowers for h
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(St. Louis Globe-Democrat.)
(St. Louis Globe-Democrat.)
“Republicanism does not necessarily involve treason to the South.” One aspect of General Longstreet’s career from Appomattox till his death the other day brings out a very unlovely attribute which was obtrusive in the South during these years. That was the ostracism to which he was subject because he joined the Republican party and accepted two or three offices from Republican Presidents. This antagonism towards him by a large portion of the old Confederate element gradually diminished as a new
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(Vicksburg, Mississippi, Herald.)
(Vicksburg, Mississippi, Herald.)
“There was no more magnificent display of heroism during the entire war than at Gettysburg.” As truly as Warwick was the last of the barons of the feudal era, was Longstreet the last of the great Confederate commanders. He rose to prominence in the early engagements of the war—his was a household name as one of the chief hopes of the cause, when those of all the remaining survivors of like rank were colonels and brigadiers. At the first Manassas, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Seven Days’ fight, t
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(Bainbridge, Georgia, Searchlight.)
(Bainbridge, Georgia, Searchlight.)
“Robbed of the laurels won in peerless campaigns.” The death of General Longstreet at his Gainesville home the other day removes one of the few grand actors of the war drama of the sixties. He was known as the “old war-horse of the Confederacy,” and perhaps in point of military ability he ranked next to the great Lee himself. His soldiers had the most remarkable confidence in him, and he it was who could inspire them to deeds of valor unparalleled. At times since there have been those who have a
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(Thompson, Georgia, Progress.)
(Thompson, Georgia, Progress.)
“Would have been court-martialed for disobeying orders at Gettysburg.” It is passing strange that any one should make such a charge against General Longstreet, in view of the fact that General Lee never made any such charge; and any sane man knows that he would have made the charge had it been true, and no doubt General Longstreet would have been court-martialed for such an offence, especially as it is charged that this probably lost the battle to the Confederates. General Longstreet was one of
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(Houston, Texas, Chronicle.)
(Houston, Texas, Chronicle.)
“He was superior to human vanity or ambition.” It should not be forgotten that when the war began General Longstreet, like General Lee and many others of the South’s illustrious leaders, was an officer in the army of the United States. Had he adhered to the Union, high command awaited him; the siren voice of ambition whispered to him of a splendid future of fame and honor and rich reward, while he knew more doubtful was the issue if he heeded the call of duty and offered his sword to the South.
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(Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution.)
(Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution.)
“Truth will take hold upon the pen of history.” A great soldier, in the ripeness of years and yet enduring to the latest breath the pangs of the wounds of four decades ago, has fallen upon earth’s final sleep. In the brave days of his earlier soldiership, and then in the strenuous years of one of the world’s most tragic wars, wherein his genius lifted him to the next highest rank of generalship, General James Longstreet was a conspicuous figure and always a force to be reckoned with. The finest
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(St. Paul, Minnesota, Pioneer Press.)
(St. Paul, Minnesota, Pioneer Press.)
“Ostracised by men who did no fighting.” The pestiferous pertinacity with which certain women of the South seize every opportunity to fan the embers of a dying sectional animosity, and to blazon their adherence to the principles of the “Lost Cause,” is again illustrated in the refusal of the Savannah Daughters of the Confederacy to send a wreath to be laid on General Longstreet’s grave. Next to Robert E. Lee, Longstreet had the reputation of being the ablest of the officers who fought on the Sou
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(Atlanta, Georgia, Journal.)
(Atlanta, Georgia, Journal.)
“One of the most gallant spirits of the century.” With the death of General James Longstreet, who was the first ranking general of the Confederate army, passes one of the most gallant spirits of the nineteenth century. Of all the men who fought with conspicuous valor and prowess for the Confederate cause, there was none who possessed more leonine courage or inspired in his men a greater degree of enthusiastic affection than this chieftain whom Lee dubbed with the title of “My Old War-Horse” on t
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(Newport, Virginia, News.)
(Newport, Virginia, News.)
“The bravest of the brave.” The Savannah Daughters of the Confederacy, whose custom it is to send a laurel wreath for the tomb of deceased Confederates, refused to send one upon the death of General Longstreet a few days ago. The Daughters at Savannah have, we suppose, satisfactorily to themselves, settled the mooted question of the Gettysburg controversy, but we do not believe their action will find applause generally among the ex-Confederate soldiers. Whatever may have been the fact at Gettysb
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(Birmingham, Alabama, Ledger.)
(Birmingham, Alabama, Ledger.)
“In the military annals of the Anglo-Saxon race there is nothing finer than his fighting record.” The author of the article on Longstreet, which recently appeared in the Ledger and which we republish below, has been a close student of military history, and was personally observant of great movements in Virginia during the war: “Men of Southern blood who recall the days when the civilized world was thrilled with the renown of those great Confederate captains, ‘Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson,’ can s
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(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
“No reproach can be cast upon his bravery and devotion.” The Savannah Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy has made itself ridiculous by throwing a brick at the dead lion at Gainesville! It seems a pity that the enterprising news gatherers in the Forest City should have given out to the public the silly action of these young women. Their offence was a resolution “refusing” to send a wreath to lay upon the grave of General Longstreet “because he disobeyed orders at Gettysburg.” The causes
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(New York Journal.)
(New York Journal.)
“After a while Southern capitals will be adorned with statues of Longstreet; upon his grave ‘his foeman’s children will loose the rose.’” At the age of eighty-three General Longstreet has passed away—a noble character, a good soldier, one of the hardest fighters of the Civil War. General Longstreet was pretty badly treated by the people whose battles he fought with so great courage and capacity. He was no politician—just a soldier, and at the close of the war committed the error of “fraterni
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(New York Tribune.)
(New York Tribune.)
Lee and Longstreet. The death of General James Longstreet, as was to be expected, has revived to some extent the controversies which have raged over certain memorable incidents in his military career. For the last twenty-five years persistent efforts have been made to throw on General Longstreet’s shoulders responsibility for Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg. Not a few Southern writers have gone so far as to accuse him, if not of insubordination, at least of culpable inattention to orders given him by
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(New Orleans Picayune, Special.)
(New Orleans Picayune, Special.)
“The Confederates had no better fighter than Longstreet.” New York , January 4.—“Longstreet fought hard enough to suit me—he gave me all I wanted. I was perfectly satisfied when the second day’s fight was over.” This was General Sickles’s comment to-day at the city hall with reference to criticism by General John B. Gordon, who seems to think that the defeat of the Confederates at Gettysburg was due to General Longstreet. “Gordon is a gallant gentleman, and he was a gallant soldier,” continu
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(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
“His record needs no defence.” To The Editor of the Telegraph : The able editorial in your issue of several days ago touching the Savannah incident in which the Daughters of the Confederacy refused to send flowers to the funeral of General Longstreet, assigning as the reason “that General Longstreet refused to obey the order of General Lee at Gettysburg,” met a responsive chord in the hearts of many old veterans of the Confederate army. Longstreet’s war record, like that of Stonewall Jackson’s,
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(Raleigh, North Carolina, Post.)
(Raleigh, North Carolina, Post.)
“The idol of the Army of Northern Virginia.” If the conduct of some of our people towards General Longstreet, the great soldier, just dead, was not pitiful, it would be brutal. He, the stubborn fighter of all our armies, the trusted arm of General Lee, the idol of the Army of Northern Virginia, dead, forty years after his many battles and the establishment of his undying fame, is refused by some of the daughters and granddaughters of the men who fought and fell under his banners, a wreath of flo
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(Washington, D. C., Star.)
(Washington, D. C., Star.)
“Longstreet came out of the war with a record for courage and loyalty second to none.” General Thomas L. Rosser, of Virginia, who commanded a regiment at Gettysburg, and who was with the Army of Northern Virginia from the first battle to the surrender, bitterly resents the criticism of General Longstreet’s course at Gettysburg. General Rosser was appointed an officer in the Spanish War by President McKinley, and in recent years has been acting with the Republican party. Reviewing the work of som
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(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
(Macon, Georgia, Telegraph.)
“On the historic page is blazoned his glory.” From the lips of Lee no word of censure ever fell upon the military renown of his great corps commander, the intrepid and immovable Longstreet. However men may differ as to that last fateful day at Gettysburg, on the historic page there is blazoned the military glory of James Longstreet. No earthly power can blot it out. Longstreet’s corps is as inseparable from the glory of the veterans of Lee as the Old Guard from the army of Napoleon. And when a w
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(McRae, Georgia, Enterprise.)
(McRae, Georgia, Enterprise.)
“Only necessary to refer his critics to the official reports.” It is rather significant in the life of General Longstreet that under the storm of anathemas which have been hurled upon him, both by private tongue and public pen, he always observed that silence commensurate with his dignity of character and magnanimity of soul. It is furthermore significant, that whenever an attack was made upon his official conduct at any time, it was only necessary that he point to the official report of the mat
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(Chattanooga Times, Special.)
(Chattanooga Times, Special.)
“Punished for his Americanism.” Huntsville, Alabama , January 8.—General Samuel H. Moore, a brave ex-Confederate soldier of this city, claims to know inside history concerning the career of General Longstreet after the close of the Civil War, and in a communication written for the public he calls upon General Joseph Wheeler and Colonel W. W. Garth to tell what they know in justice to the departed chieftain. General Moore writes: “It is due General Lee’s old war-horse, who was familiarly known
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(Gainesville, Georgia, Eagle.)
(Gainesville, Georgia, Eagle.)
“Always a plumed knight without reproach.” Nothing but sickness and a cold drive of twenty-five miles could have prevented me from attending the funeral obsequies of my old friend and great military chieftain and placing my humble tribute of flowers upon his grave. And now, in the quiet of a sick-chamber, I undertake to weave a little garland to his memory. I know that nothing I may write will add any lustre or greatness to a name that has become immortal in the annals of a people who more than
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(Washington, D. C., Star.)
(Washington, D. C., Star.)
“Would have won battle. Never disloyal to his commander.” Major J. H. Stine, historian of the Army of the Potomac, has this to say of General Longstreet: “It would be unjust in me to keep silent after enjoying General Longstreet’s confidence, especially in regard to that great battle in which the blue and the gray met at Gettysburg. A quarter of a century after that great battle I had Longstreet invited here as the guest of the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He came to Washington some t
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(Lost Cause.)
(Lost Cause.)
“Pendleton’s charge a discharge of hot air.” The recent death of the gallant old war-horse of the Army of Northern Virginia, General James Longstreet, has again revived some of the slanderous and unfounded reports of his lack of duty, unfaithfulness, and disobedience of orders at the battle of Gettysburg. I want to offer some thoughts in regard to this matter, and the first thing I want to say is that General Longstreet retained the love and confidence of the soldiers of Lee’s army up to the sur
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(Sterling Price Camp.)
(Sterling Price Camp.)
“His chivalry is as lasting as the hills of the Old Dominion.” Tribute to the memory of General James Longstreet, adopted by Sterling Price Camp, No. 31, Dallas, Texas. Comrade A. W. Nowlin, in submitting the report of the committee, said in part: “Comrades, we have assembled here as a camp to pay tribute to the memory of the late Lieutenant-General Longstreet. One of the great soldiers of the age has fallen. He has answered the last roll-call. Taps has been sounded ‘Lights out.’ The ‘War-Horse
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(Camp 435.)
(Camp 435.)
“A Solomon in council, a Samson on the field.” The following resolution in memory of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, introduced by Captain Wm. Dunbar, was adopted by Camp 435, U. C. V., Augusta, Georgia, by a unanimous and rising vote: Resolved , That we deplore the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet. We recall how, in the opening of the campaign of 1862, his stubborn gallantry saved the Army of Northern Virginia for its long career of glory; how, later in the same campaign, his s
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(Longstreet Chapter.)
(Longstreet Chapter.)
“His fame is imperishable.” Verily, though dead, yet in history he will continue to live; be it therefore Resolved , That while we, the Daughters of the Confederacy, deplore the loss of our beloved Confederate General James Longstreet, who was the first ranking general of the Confederate army, passes one of the most gallant spirits of the nineteenth century. In the war drama of his life he played a most important part. At the beginning of the scene of the Civil War he took up the Southland’s cau
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(John A. Green Camp.)
(John A. Green Camp.)
“The battle-fields of Virginia will ever pay tribute to Longstreet’s genius.” Head-Quarters Colonel John A. Green Camp, No. 1461, U. C. V., Dickens, Texas. We have assembled here to pay tribute to the memory of the “War-Horse” of the Army of Northern Virginia, General James Longstreet, who died recently at his home in or near Gainesville, Georgia, at the ripe old age of eighty-three years. General Longstreet earned his first laurels at the first battle of Manassas, and fought his way up to lieut
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(James Longstreet Camp.)
(James Longstreet Camp.)
“A patriot who commanded the admiration of the age in which he lived. One of the world’s great generals.” To the memory of General Longstreet, passed by Camp James Longstreet, U. C. V., at their regular meeting in Ennis, Texas, January 17, 1904: Whereas , The Commander-in-Chief has been pleased to call the late Lieutenant-General James Longstreet across the river, to rest in the shade on the other shore with his former commanding general, R. E. Lee, and his associates, Hood, Jackson, and others,
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(Hattiesburg Camp.)
(Hattiesburg Camp.)
“He was the chosen leader and central figure in every great conflict from the first battle of Manassas to the fateful day at Appomattox.” Longstreet was the chosen leader and central figure in every great conflict from the first battle of Manassas to the fateful day at Appomattox. Sparta never had a worthier son than the South had in General Longstreet. From the firing of the first gun his ardor never ceased, his courage never failed. Often in the midst of the greatest battle did he stand with h
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(John M. Stephen’s Camp.)
(John M. Stephen’s Camp.)
“Where his flag waved his lines stood as immovable as Gibraltar.” Comrades ,—At his home at Gainesville, Georgia, at 5 P.M. , Saturday, January 2, 1904, in his eighty-third year, Lieutenant-General Longstreet answered his last roll-call. If Alabama had done nothing save to give us Longstreet and Pelham, she would have done much for herself, the Southland, and for fame. If with Alexander, Hannibal, and Napoleon, Robert E. Lee takes first rank among the world’s great generals, surely General Lon
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(Jeff Falkner Camp.)
(Jeff Falkner Camp.)
“His officers and men have never doubted his courage and loyalty.” Commander John Purifoy spoke of the death of General Longstreet and introduced the subjoined resolutions which were unanimously adopted. “In the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet a great soldier has ‘passed over the river’ to his final rest. No more will he wake to behold the splendor and fame of his men. He has fought his last battle. In the school of war he had learned courage, promptness, and determination. Its ster
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(George B. Eastin Camp.)
(George B. Eastin Camp.)
“His fame will endure as long as the story of the great struggle shall be told.” Whereas , We, the members of the George B. Eastin Camp of United Confederate Veterans, Louisville, Kentucky, have heard with profound regret of the death of our distinguished comrade, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, and feel that we should pay tribute to the memory of one who was so conspicuously associated with the cause for which we fought; therefore be it Resolved , That we recognize and testify to the valor
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(Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 88.)
(Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 88.)
“He was as true as the needle to the pole in every position in which he was placed, whether in civic or military life.” January 17, 1904. Two weeks ago to-day the wires flashed the news over the country that General James Longstreet, the soldier, statesman, and diplomat, died Saturday night at his home in Gainesville, Georgia. He was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821, hence lacked only a few days of being eighty-three years of age. He graduated from West Point in 1842,
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(Joseph E. Johnston Camp.)
(Joseph E. Johnston Camp.)
“His sword was one of the most trenchant ever drawn in the South’s defence.” At a regular meeting of Joseph E. Johnston Camp, U. C. V., No. 119, held at Gainesville, Texas, on the 9th day of January, 1904, the Committee on Resolutions as to the death of General Longstreet presented, and the Camp unanimously adopted, the following resolutions: Resolved , That we have heard, with deep sorrow, of the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, late of the Confederate army. Resolved , That in the
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(Merrill E. Pratt Chapter.)
(Merrill E. Pratt Chapter.)
“Years will only add lustre to his crown.” The Merrill E. Pratt Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, of Prattville, Alabama, paid a tribute of respect to the memory of General James Longstreet, by adopting the following resolutions: Whereas , Fully cognizant of the fact that there will be many tributes of condolence offered, tributes that thrill with eloquence and lofty sentiment, yet there will be none more sincere or more truly heartfelt than that offered by the Merrill E. Pratt
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(Tom Smith Camp.)
(Tom Smith Camp.)
“He was the last survivor of the South’s great warriors.” Mr. Commander and Comrades ,—Your committee appointed at the last meeting of this Camp to draft resolutions expressing our sorrow and grief at the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, respectfully report as follows: Lieutenant-General Longstreet was the commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the last survivor of the great warriors upon whom that rank was first conferred when the Confederate armies we
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(J. E. B. Stuart Camp.)
(J. E. B. Stuart Camp.)
“General Lee leaned on him as a strong arm of defence.” In the death of General James Longstreet passes away one of the most prominent generals of the Southern Confederacy. He was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821. When ten years old, in 1831, he moved with his mother to Alabama, and from this State he was appointed to the United States Military Academy, from whence he graduated in 1842. He was assigned to duty at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in 1842–44; on frontier du
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(Horace King Camp.)
(Horace King Camp.)
“He was one of the most persistent and determined fighters that any country ever produced.” Your committee appointed by Horace King Camp, No. 476, U. C. V., Decatur, Alabama, to prepare resolutions expressive of their profound sorrow at the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, of Confederate army fame, beg leave to report,— First, That in General Longstreet’s death we have lost one of the bravest generals who fought on either side of the Civil War—one whom the great Lee called the r
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(New York Highlanders.)
(New York Highlanders.)
“We had reason to respect him as a foe.” Head-quarters Seventy-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteer Highlanders, Veteran Association. Whereas , It has come to our knowledge that our esteemed Honorary Member, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, late of the Confederate army, has passed to that bourne from which no traveller has ever returned; and Whereas , We had reason to respect him as a foe with whom we were often in conflict, and to whom we sometimes had to yield the palm of victory, and especi
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(Camp Frank Gardner.)
(Camp Frank Gardner.)
“He won for our armies a world-wide reputation.” Camp General Frank Gardner , No. 580, U. C. V., Lafayette, Louisiana , January 14th, 1904. Whereas , This is the first meeting of this Camp held since death has claimed as one of its victims the distinguished Confederate soldier, General James Longstreet, who departed this life on the 2d day of January, 1904, at Gainesville, Georgia; and Whereas , This Camp recognizes the great services rendered to the cause by the brilliant soldier, and desires t
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(Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 436.)
(Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 436.)
“The Gettysburg charges are not supported by authentic history or satisfactory evidence.” Whereas , It has pleased Almighty God to call to him the immortal soul of General James Longstreet, lieutenant-general in the Army of the Confederate States of America, whose record as a broad-minded citizen and conscientious, upright, and honorable officer in the various civil positions he has held, is only excelled by the great service he rendered his country, as the soldier and general, whose bravery, fo
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(Pat Cleburne Camp, No 222.)
(Pat Cleburne Camp, No 222.)
“He was a true and tried leader of men.” To Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 222, Waco, Texas : Your committee respectfully recommend the following resolutions as to General Longstreet: Whereas , We have heard with deep regret of the recent death of General James Longstreet, commander forty years ago of the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Confederate States army; therefore be it Resolved , That in the death of General James Longstreet the country at large has lost a true and tried leader of men, a
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(Cobb-Deloney Camp.)
(Cobb-Deloney Camp.)
“At the end of the unequal contest he sheathed a stainless sword.” Whereas , It has pleased an all wise Providence to remove from this life Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and second ranking officer in that army; and Whereas , In all the eventful campaigns of that army, from Manassas to Appomattox, General Longstreet was a conspicuous figure, enjoying the full confidence and affection of our peerless chieftain, General Robert E.
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(Mayor and City Council, Atlanta, Georgia.)
(Mayor and City Council, Atlanta, Georgia.)
“He was ever loyal to duty and the Southern cause.” Whereas , Lieutenant-General James Longstreet died at his home in Gainesville, Georgia, on the 2d day of January, 1904; and Whereas , As a Southern soldier General Longstreet won imperishable fame and glory as a corps commander in the armies of the Confederacy during the fateful days of the ’60’s, and was held in the highest esteem and confidence by the knightly and matchless Lee, and was ever loyal to duty and the cause of the Southern Confede
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(Camp Walker.)
(Camp Walker.)
“We deplore and deeply regret the action of the Savannah Daughters.” The committee appointed to express the views of Camp Walker, U. C. V., No. 925, on the military record of General James Longstreet, beg leave to report as follows: Whereas , We have heard with deep regret of the recent death of General James Longstreet, commander forty years ago of the First Army Corps, A. N. Va., Confederate States army; therefore Resolved , That in the death of General James Longstreet the country at large ha
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(Longstreet’s “Boys.”)
(Longstreet’s “Boys.”)
“A noble, heroic, and spotless soldier.” “I was a member of Longstreet’s corps for three years,” said General McGlashan, in the preface to his resolutions, “I followed the fortunes of that corps, served with it, saw its work, saw its sufferings, its victories, and its grandeur of behavior on every battle-field from Seven Pines to Appomattox, for I was fortunate enough to be wounded at only one fight, and if any one in so humble a position as I was could say anything about his leader, I think I c
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(Floyd County Camp.)
(Floyd County Camp.)
“The patriot who gave his all.” Rome, Georgia , January 12, 1904. Mrs. James Longstreet , Gainesville, Georgia: Madam ,—At a meeting held to-day of Floyd County Camp, United Confederate Veterans, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: Whereas , Our honored and beloved fellow-comrade of the United Confederate Veterans, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, quietly and peacefully died at his home in Gainesville, Georgia, on Saturday, January 2, 1904, and recognizing in him the true m
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(Camp Niemeyer Shaw, Berkley, Virginia.)
(Camp Niemeyer Shaw, Berkley, Virginia.)
“His life full to the brim of manly principle.” This Camp has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Lieutenant-General Longstreet. His life had reached the full measure of human probation; but it was full to the brim of manly principle, heroic service, and dauntless courage. Loyal to his Southland and to all the interest committed to him by his country, he maintained his integrity of character and the unbounded confidence of all right-minded men to the end. Tried in the school of civic life
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(Camp Ben McCulloch.)
(Camp Ben McCulloch.)
“His fame and glory belong to the South.” Whereas , It has pleased Almighty God to remove from this earth our distinguished comrade, General James Longstreet; therefore be it Resolved , That we deeply lament the death of our comrade, and shall ever cherish and revere his memory. Resolved , The ever memorable relief of that arch hero “Stonewall” Jackson, when hard pressed by overwhelming forces of the enemy at the second battle of Manassas, by which prompt action pending defeat was turned into gl
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(John B. Gordon Camp.)
(John B. Gordon Camp.)
“Courage and honor his characteristics as soldier and citizen.” Resolved , That the John B. Gordon Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Atlanta, Georgia, has heard with great sorrow of the death of General James Longstreet, which occurred at his home at Gainesville, Georgia, on the 2d day of January, 1904. His life was one of fealty and devotion to the cause for which he fought, while courage and honor were his characteristics both as soldier and citizen. It can truthfully be said of him: He was
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(Alexander H. Stephens Camp.)
(Alexander H. Stephens Camp.)
“The beau-ideal of soldier and patriot.” Attention, Comrades : When men conspicuous for sublime action, such as heroic conduct, goodness or greatness, or other lofty attainment are called to pass over the “river of death,” it is a patriotic duty for surviving comrades to give expression to their grief. It needs not the building of a pantheon or vote of a senate to give them a place among the immortals, to keep alive their illustrious acts and virtues. Most certainly it is not necessary in the ca
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(Marengo Rifles Chapter, U. D. C.)
(Marengo Rifles Chapter, U. D. C.)
“One of the hardest fighters in Lee’s army.” Whereas , The Great Commander-in-Chief has called “over the river” the gallant Longstreet; therefore be it Resolved , That Marengo Rifles Chapter, U. D. C., mourns with the entire Southland the death of that daring, brave, and fearless soldier, General James Longstreet, who was one of the strongest supports, and one of the hardest fighters the peerless Lee had in his army; that his fame will ever be cherished by this Chapter as well as by all who “wor
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(Jeff Lee Camp.)
(Jeff Lee Camp.)
“The war-horse of the Confederacy.” Whereas , The Supreme Commander of all the hosts has ordered our beloved comrade and friend, General James Longstreet, the old war-horse of the Confederacy, to report at head-quarters a little in advance of us, his fellow-soldiers; therefore be it Resolved , That while we shall miss from our councils and general convention our brother and comrade, the sunlight of whose presence upon the hard-fought battle-fields enabled us to bear more easily our long marches
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(John H. Morgan and Bourbon Camps.)
(John H. Morgan and Bourbon Camps.)
“Full of years and honors.” At a meeting of John H. Morgan Camp, No. 95, and Bourbon Camp, No. 1368, U. C. V. A., in joint assembly, held in the city of Paris, Kentucky, on the 1st day of February, 1904, the following resolutions were adopted: The distinguished officers of the Confederacy are rapidly falling before the grim reaper. We are called upon to mourn the departure of one of the greatest soldiers developed in the war between the States, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, dying full of
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(Selma, Alabama, Chapter.)
(Selma, Alabama, Chapter.)
“A rare combination of fidelity, patriotic principle, and unsullied integrity.” Selma, Alabama , January 14, 1904. The committee appointed January 12, at a meeting of the Selma, Alabama, Chapter, to prepare resolutions in memory of General James Longstreet offer the following: Resolved , That in the shadow of this great sorrow the Selma Chapter joins with the Confederate Veterans, Divisions and Brigades, in submission to Him who “doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the in
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(C. M. Winkler Camp.)
(C. M. Winkler Camp.)
“One of the great commanders of modern times.” Whereas , It has pleased the Almighty God to remove from our midst one who while in life was a brilliant soldier, courteous gentleman, and whose military career in the armies of the South marked him as one of the truly great commanders of modern times; therefore be it Resolved , That in the death of General Longstreet the South has lost a great soldier and a brilliant commander, to whose fame as such nothing can be added, save that he was “the war-h
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(Company B, Confederate Veterans.)
(Company B, Confederate Veterans.)
“A tribute of glory on his grave.” At a meeting of Company “B,” Confederate Veterans, the following resolutions were adopted: Whereas , We have heard with great sorrow of the death of General James Longstreet, under whose leadership many of us fought during the great war; be it Resolved , That in General Longstreet the Confederacy had one of her greatest leaders. His ability as such, his bravery, and unwearied zeal won for him a place in our hearts, and we desire as an organization to add our te
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(Camp Hampton.)
(Camp Hampton.)
“His name is associated with almost every Confederate victory won on the soil of Virginia.” At a meeting of Camp Hampton, Columbia, South Carolina, Colonel R. W. Shand spoke feelingly of the life and services of General Longstreet, and offered the following resolutions: The sad intelligence of the death on the 2d of January last of James Longstreet, the senior lieutenant-general of the Confederate States army, has reached us since our last regular meeting. In the language of an impartial histori
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(Confederate Veterans’ Association.)
(Confederate Veterans’ Association.)
“No wrong to mar his memory.” Whereas , By the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, on the 2d day of January, 1904, in Gainesville, Georgia, there is removed from our midst another of the few remaining of our great captains, over whose parting we sadly lament; and Whereas , In common with other surviving veterans who served in the Confederate armies where this distinguished dead soldier commanded, believing in the broad principles of truth, and cherishing a feeling of fraternal regard f
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(Camp Tige Anderson.)
(Camp Tige Anderson.)
“His heroic and valiant services will be remembered.” Atlanta, Georgia , January 5, 1904. The following resolutions were read and adopted at a meeting of Camp Tige Anderson, January 5, 1904. Whereas , This Camp has heard with sincerest regret of the death of our lamented comrade General James Longstreet; and Whereas , We recognize and remember General Longstreet’s heroic and valiant services to our beloved cause. Resolved , That we will revere his memory as one of the best of the friends of the
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(Sidney Lanier Chapter, U. D. C.)
(Sidney Lanier Chapter, U. D. C.)
“We will teach the children of the South the story of his sublime courage.” Macon, Georgia , January 7, 1904. Mrs. James Longstreet : Dear Madam ,—The Sidney Lanier Chapter, No. 25, U. D. C., mourn with you and yours over the loss of your illustrious husband. We tender to you and his children our heartfelt sympathy, and promise that we will do all in our power to teach the children of our dear Southland the story of his sublime courage, his devotion to duty, of the willingness of his men to fo
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(Troy Chapter, U. D. C.)
(Troy Chapter, U. D. C.)
“Reverence and esteem for the soldier and gentleman.” Troy, Alabama , January 10, 1904. Mrs. Longstreet , Gainesville, Georgia: My dear Madam ,—The members of Troy Chapter, Alabama Division, U. D. C., desire that you should learn through us of our deep sympathy in your late bereavement. We feel that we have sustained a personal loss in the death of your noble husband, and would convey to you some sense of our reverence and esteem for the gallant Confederate general and honorable Southern gentl
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(Williamsburg Chapter, D. of C.)
(Williamsburg Chapter, D. of C.)
“The defender of our homes.” The Williamsburg, Virginia, Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, wishing to do honor to the eminent soldier Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, do unanimously resolve: 1. That we can never forget that on the 5th of May, 1862, General Longstreet held back the advance of the Federal army and protected our homes and firesides from the overwhelming forces of the enemy, as he marched towards the Confederate capital. 2. That at his grave we forget all political di
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(Mobile Chapter, U. D. C.)
(Mobile Chapter, U. D. C.)
“His great name and fame precious to Southern hearts.” Mobile , January 19, 1904. My dear Mrs. Longstreet : At a recent meeting of the Mobile Chapter, Alabama Division, U. D. C., I was instructed by a rising vote to express to you the affectionate sympathy of the members of the Chapter, in the recent great bereavement which has befallen you in the death of your distinguished husband, General James Longstreet. In this bereavement you have the sympathy of every Daughter of the Confederacy, who in
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(T. D. Smith Chapter, U. D. C.)
(T. D. Smith Chapter, U. D. C.)
“Always true to his convictions.” Dublin, Georgia , January 18, 1904. To Mrs. Longstreet and Family : The Dublin Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy wish to extend to you and yours their sincerest sympathy, which we, as well as the entire South, feel in the loss of one of her greatest chieftains, General James Longstreet. In his death the South has lost a noble, heroic son, whose deeds will live in the hearts of her people, a soldier, a general whose brave acts have caused every child of
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(Cobb County, Georgia, Camp.)
(Cobb County, Georgia, Camp.)
“His knightly valor won for him a diadem of glory.” The committee appointed to give some appropriate expression of its high appreciation, love, and honor for General James Longstreet, the great leader of Longstreet’s corps, C.S.A., and of our deep sorrow at his death, and to report and recommend suitable action by this Camp, respectfully submit the following: General James Longstreet was a native of South Carolina, born of an illustrious family, distinguished alike for intellectual strength and
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(Atlanta Camp.)
(Atlanta Camp.)
“His name and fame are the heritage of the American people.” Atlanta Camp, No. 159, United Confederate Veterans, in the following report pays glowing tribute to the memory of the late General James Longstreet, who died on January 2, at his home in Gainesville, Georgia. In the death of General James Longstreet, there passed away a notable and commanding figure of the Army of Northern Virginia in the late Civil War. His history and service are indissolubly connected with all of the great movements
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(Houston, Georgia, Camp.)
(Houston, Georgia, Camp.)
“His war structure cannot be pulled down.” At a meeting of the old soldiers of Houston County, Georgia, to commemorate the birth of the immortal Lee, and also, by previous arrangement, to take cognizance and condolence of the death of General Longstreet, under whom many of these old soldiers served throughout the war, the following resolutions were submitted and unanimously adopted: Resolved , That in the death of General James Longstreet we sustain the loss of one of the most valiant and capabl
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(Survivors of Longstreet’s Corps.)
(Survivors of Longstreet’s Corps.)
“History will give him that which is due.” Another set of resolutions, showing the esteem in which Longstreet’s men held the dead general, and the love that they bear for him, were drawn up yesterday by Mr. A. K. Wilson, who was a member of Longstreet’s corps, and were signed by the veterans in the city, who, like Mr. Wilson, had been followers of the dead leader. The resolutions were as follows: Comrades ,—Our comrade and our leader has left us. He has gone to join the hosts on the other side
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(Camp Hardee.)
(Camp Hardee.)
“Longstreet more often than any other subordinate was trusted with independent commands.” To Camp Hardee, Confederate Veterans, Birmingham, Alabama : Your committee, appointed to report resolutions commemorative of the life and service of the late Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, recommends the following: Resolved , That in the testimony of the estimate of old soldiers of his life and services to the South in the great war between the States Camp Hardee adopt the following statement: General
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(Camp No. 135.)
(Camp No. 135.)
“Hardest fighter in the army.” Comrades, we assemble to pay tribute to the memory of Lieutenant-General Longstreet, one of our great chieftains. For him “taps have sounded,” “lights are out,” and “all is still.” This fearless leader is gone. He was the “hard fighter” of Northern Virginia, and his opponents always knew when he was in their front or directing the assault. He had the confidence of his men, and they loved him. He led them but to victory. The South admired and trusted him. His name i
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(John B. Hood Camp.)
(John B. Hood Camp.)
“Oblivion will shut out those who assail his great name.” To the Officers and Members of John B. Hood Camp, No. 103, U. C. V. : Comrades ,—We, your committee, appointed at a meeting held this day to draft resolutions upon the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, late commander of the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, beg leave to submit the following: Whereas , It having pleased the Deity to call our great commander to cross over the river and take permanent position with the ma
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(John B. Gordon Chapter, U. D. C.)
(John B. Gordon Chapter, U. D. C.)
“As gallant a soldier as wore the gray.” Wetumpka, Alabama , January 12, 1904. Whereas , The Ruler of the Universe has seen fit to call from his earthly home the spirit of General Longstreet, and take him to his home on high, as a bright reward for his faithfulness and fidelity here in life. General Longstreet was as brave and gallant a soldier as wore the gray during the fierce struggle of the South. He was known and loved throughout this fair sunny Southland, not only as a soldier and general
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(George W. Johnson Camp.)
(George W. Johnson Camp.)
“True and faithful to every duty.” At a meeting of the George W. Johnson Camp, Confederate Veterans’ Association of Kentucky, to take in consideration the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, the following resolutions were reported and adopted: Resolved , That in the death of General Longstreet has passed from the stage of action one of the central and most prominent figures of our late war. Resolved , In him we recognized one of the ablest and most gallant soldiers of the lost cause. R
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(Tennessee Division, Daughters of the Confederacy.)
(Tennessee Division, Daughters of the Confederacy.)
“Mankind will find no brighter page of history than that written by Longstreet’s corps.” Resolutions of the Tennessee Division of the Daughters of the Confederacy: Entered into rest January 2, 1904, at his home in Gainesville, Georgia, surrounded by his family, consisting of his wife and five children, at the ripe old age of eighty-three years, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet. A graduate of West Point, one of the heroes of the Mexican War, where he was desperately wounded, in storming Cherub
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(Encampment No. 9, Union Veteran Legion, New Castle, Pennsylvania.)
(Encampment No. 9, Union Veteran Legion, New Castle, Pennsylvania.)
“A brave, generous, and great man.” Resolved , That the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet has caused the loss to the nation of a brave, generous, and great man. None knew his bravery or his greatness as a commander better than we of the Union Veteran Legion who often met him on fields that tested to the limit the fighting qualities of the American. We extend to his wife and family our sympathy in their bereavement, and the assurance of our great respect for their lost one....
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(George E. Pickett Camp.)
(George E. Pickett Camp.)
“In nearly all the leading battles of the South there was Longstreet to lead his men to fame and glory.” January 25, 1904. To the Officers and Members of George E. Pickett Camp, C. V. : Your committee appointed on resolutions relative to the death of Lieutenant-General Longstreet desire to have it placed on record, that we, the survivors of Confederate Veterans, lost in the recent death of General Longstreet one of our best and bravest officers, under whose command the Army of Northern Virginia
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(John Bowie Strange Camp.)
(John Bowie Strange Camp.)
“Those who followed Longstreet in the fitful fever of war ever had confidence in his ability, courage, and fidelity.” The John Bowie Strange Camp of Confederate Veterans of Charlottesville, Virginia, assembled in special meeting for the purpose, desire to spread on their record a tribute to the memory of James Longstreet, lieutenant-general in the armies of the Confederate States, whose death has been recently announced. The Virginians who served under him in the great Civil War recognize his sp
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PERSONAL LETTERS
PERSONAL LETTERS
“Every inch a man.” New York , January 12, 1904. Mrs. James Longstreet , Gainesville, Georgia: My Dear Mrs. Longstreet ,—Permit me to offer my sympathies in your great bereavement, and to add my tears to yours. I have always loved and admired General Longstreet, and considered him one of the greatest general officers in the Confederacy. He was indeed every inch a man. “His great heart had nothing but kindness for all that was American.” Nicholasville, Kentucky , January 22, 1904. Mrs. James Lo
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THE SONS FOLLOW THE FATHERS
THE SONS FOLLOW THE FATHERS
The twenty-third Annual Encampment of the Commandery-in-Chief of the Sons of Veterans, U. S. A., was in session at Boston, August 17 to 19, 1904. At their closing session, E. R. Campbell, of Washington, D. C., Past Commander-in-Chief, acting under unanimous consent, brought the above tribute from the Veterans to the attention of the Sons of Veterans. In a graceful speech he referred to this beautiful testimonial from the Grand Army of the Republic to the memory of a gallant opponent; asserted th
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