Gen. James Longstreet was the commander of the Confederate First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and was second in command at the Battle of Gettysburg to Gen. Robert E. Lee. Who was James Longstreet and what impact did he have on the outcome of the battle? These are the questions that I will try to address in this article.
James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina on January 8, 1821, to James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet, the fifth child James was the third born to them. They were of Dutch extraction, his predecessor Dirck Stoffels Langestraet immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Belgium in 1657. The name Langestraet has been anglicized over the generations to Longstreet.
His father wanted him to be in the military, but he felt it would be better for him to be educated in Augusta, Georgia, so James was sent at the age of nine to live with his aunt and uncle. He spent the next eight years on his uncle’s plantation, during which time he attended Richmond County Academy.
In 1838 he was appointed to the Academy where in 1842, 54th of 56 cadets Unit. . After graduation, Longstreet was commissioned second brevet lieutenant in the 4th US Infantry. When the Civil War began, he joined the Confederate Army and became a bandit leader when he was a commanding officer from Alabama. He immediately trained his wing three times a day, and also instructed the soldiers, and two weeks later the first battle of Manassis was fought.
At the Battle of Seven Pines it was a poor performance, where he either misunderstood or changed Gen. Johnston’s orders. He was ordered to advance on Nine Mile Rd, but joined Gen Hill’s column on the Williamsburg Road which effectively ended his ability to attack. Gen. Longstreet gave solid service during the seven days’ battle and was promoted to Lt. General and given command of the 1st Corps.
The battle of Second Manassas was slow in station but afterwards he did admirably and did excellent work at Antietam. holding the fortifications in the crisis of battle. His best work was at the Battle of Frederick, where he held a defensive line to repel wave after wave of Confederate attacks.
Gen. Lee ordered Longstreet to attack the Union’s left wing, while Gen. Hill would attack the Union’s center on the Ridge and Gen. Ewell would attack the Union’s right. Lee wanted the attack to be made early in the day, but Longstreet stalled, receiving permission to wait while Gen. Law’s division of Gen. Hood’s brigade arrived. It was not until about noon that Longstreet finally began to move.
The order was to move without being seen by the enemy for a long time, and to make a long circuit in order to arrive at the attack. Because of the poor scouts, Longstreet had to intercept the train because of what might have been seen by the Union troops if they had gone on. After a frustrating journey of three miles and four hours, they arrived at the Pitzer woods in the area of the Peach Orchard. Upon learning that Union forces had moved to Peach Orchard, another delay occurred while Hood’s Division directed McLaws’ right to uncover the Union flanks.
From about 4:00 to 4:30 Gen. Hood tried to convince Gen. Longstreet to go around the Union left rather than attack directly, but each time Longstreet refused, saying that Gen. Lee had ordered the attack and could not be changed. Finally, around 4:30, Hood’s division moved to attack. The battle continued until dark and Gen. Longstreet said of the battle “the best three hours of fighting ever done by any force on any front.”
Gen. Lee sent orders to Longstreet to renew the attack early in the morning using Pickett’s Division. There was an attack against the Union center with Pickett’s Division and some of A P Hill’s bandits. At first, Longstreet was opposed to the attack, and when Gen. Lee arrived at his headquarters in the morning, he found that Longstreet had not begun to prepare for the attack he had ordered.
So Gen. Lee reviewed his original plans and, inspecting the Union line, Lee pointed the clod to the trees and designated it as an attack. Again Longwick objected, saying that “fifteen thousand men, who could make a successful attack on that field, were never prepared for battle,” (2) and finally he directed Pickett’s soldiers to their positions, including some of Heth’s, Pender’s. Anderson’s divisions.
After about two hours, some less historians say, the infantry artillery bombardment was ready to advance. Longstreet was still unable to advance in order, when questioned by Gen. Pickett, he soon nodded, and began to attack.
Gen. Longstreet’s actions at Gettysburg are the subject of heated controversy since the battle ended on July 3 rd 1863. Gen. Lee Longstreet considered his “Old War Horse” and appreciated his judgment and convictions, but put him down. at Gettysburg, not agreeing to his plans. He was a tinkerer and sometimes stammered if he did not comply with commands. Throughout his experience in civil war he sometimes blamed others for his faults.
He was fearless in battle and cool under fire. He took care of his men, and cared for them as best he could. Assessor Moxley Sorrel described him as “a distinguished figure…a soldier to every inch, very handsome, tall and well proportioned, strong and vigorous, an excellent horseman, and bearing an indomitable soldier, quite equal in countenance and countenance;” Eyes, a steel bullet, blue, deeply pierced; a full brown beard, a well-shaped and well-balanced head. The bone was the worst, more thick;
One thing that led to his personality and tendencies was the death of three children in 1862 from scarletta. Before their death the center of their socialization was in the headquarters; the stranger would hope that the dinner, the whiskey and the joke, had changed after the death of his sons. No longer a porter, he rarely drank and became a bishop. More often than not he became a little more gruff than saying “yes” or “no”.
As Jeffrey D. Wert said in the Introduction to the DA Capo Edition of From Manassas to Appomattox by Gen. James Longstreet, we see how complex a man Longstreet is. while he blamed others for them. His actions in certain battles and campaigns deserve great criticism. But during the seven days at Manassas, at Fredericksburg, and in the desert, Lee had no leader in his army.
Regarding Longstreet’s operation at Gettysburg, Moxley Sorrel, his aide, stated, “Apparently reckless in their movement. They lacked fire and carried the usual point in the line.” .and quickly converges with his opinion on the right way to fight.
Finally, General James Longstreet is now relevant for the ages, and it depends on how you interpret history if he was a factor in the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. There were many “what ifs” of the battle and many who came to time, and some who did not live up to expectations, one of them was General James Longstreet?
[1] en.wikipedia.org [2] From Manassas to Appomattox by James Longstreet. by Gen [3] www.rocemabra.com [4] www.rocemabra.com [5] www.rocemabra.com